On the take

last updated 8 January 2015

Berlin

A third German politician stepped down this week, in a growing scandal over legislators who have secretly accepted salaries from private companies. Jann-Peter Janssen, a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party, initially denied that he had continued to receive a salary from Volkswagen after he was elected to parliament in 1994. But after the magazine Der Spiegel printed incriminating documents this week, Janssen admitted to taking the money and quit his seat. Two members of the opposition party recently resigned after disclosing that they had been on the payroll of a major utility company for years. German law allows legislators to have second jobs, but they must report the income to parliament. “Everything that is hidden is concealed lobbyism,” said Bundestag Speaker Wolfgang Thierse, “and that is wrong.”