The then Hanseatic mayor Olaf Scholz announced the Elbtower in 2018 as a “signal of ambition for Hamburg”. Meanwhile, work on the investor René Benko’s construction site is at a standstill. Does the current Federal Chancellor share some of the blame?
During his time as Hamburg’s mayor, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) may have been more personally involved with the controversial Elbtower construction project and its investor René Benko than previously known. According to a report by the star Scholz is said to have had at least one personal contact with the Austrian billionaire shortly before the tower was awarded to Benko’s company in 2018. The magazine relies on information from Benko’s environment. Accordingly, Austria’s former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) is said to have initiated the exchange. Gusenbauer has worked for Benko’s Signa Group for years and is on the supervisory board there. He has known Scholz for decades.
The Hamburg Senate Chancellery said this star, she could “neither confirm nor deny” the information. She does not have access to former Mayor Scholz’s appointment calendar. A spokesman for the federal government said that he could “basically only comment on events within the Federal Chancellery’s area of responsibility.” A spokesman for Benko’s Signa group left a query from the magazine unanswered.
Olaf Scholz and the ailing Elbtower project
According to media reports, the Hamburg Senate has repeatedly denied that Scholz and Gusenbauer discussed the Elbtower. However, he stated in the spring of this year that Scholz and Benko once exchanged ideas in a personal meeting in 2013. At the time, it was about Benko wanting to buy the Alsterhaus in Hamburg. However, there is said to have been no direct exchange with the Elbtower. Former Bundestag member Fabio De Masi forced this information with the help of a transparency law.
The construction of the Elbtower, which cost almost a billion, was recently stalled due to financial problems at Signa. More than a week ago, the shell construction company decided to suspend construction work for the time being due to unpaid invoices. As mayor, after winning the contract for Benko’s Signa Group at the beginning of 2018, Scholz praised the plans as a “signal of ambition for Hamburg”. The investor is “an excellent real estate company”.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
