"Until taking on the role of Culture and Media Commissioner for the German government in May 2025, Weimer and his wife Christiane Goetz-Weimer headed up the "Weimer Media Group" which, since 2014, has organized and hosted the "Ludwig Erhard Summit" on the banks of the Tegernsee lake in Bavaria, just south of Munich. Participants from the private sector can reportedly pay up to 80,000 ($92,500) to take part in the summit and for the opportunity to come into contact with senior politicians."
"According to the summit's website, the 2026 edition will feature Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei, both of Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), as well as Research and Technology Minister Dorothee Bar and Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The Swiss broadsheet Neue Zurcher Zeitung reported last week that Frei and Bar had distanced themselves from the summit's "Executive Night" but the pair are still listed as speakers, as is Bavarian Premier Markus Soder (CSU)."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended Culture and Media Commissioner Wolfram Weimer, saying accusations of wrongdoing were proven false. Wolfram Weimer and his wife previously ran the Weimer Media Group and have organized the Ludwig Erhard Summit at Tegernsee since 2014. Private sector participants can reportedly pay up to 80,000 euros for summit access and opportunities to meet senior politicians. The 2026 summit lists several CDU/CSU ministers and Bavarian premier Markus Soder as speakers. Some ministers reportedly distanced themselves from the summit's "Executive Night," while SPD criticism and calls for resignation from the AfD followed the controversy.
Read at www.dw.com
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