A power struggle between opposing factions on Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) supervisory board has escalated in the wake of personnel chief Peter Hartz's resignation over a corruption scandal, a newspaper reported.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said on Saturday that the appointment of IG Metall union veteran Horst Neumann had potentially caused a rift between Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder and VW's supervisory board head, Ferdinand Piech.
Pischetsrieder did not want Neumann's appointment but was overruled by Piech, who provided key support for the candidacy of Neumann, Audi's human resources head, the newspaper said.
IG Metall trade union boss Juergen Peters, who serves as deputy chairman of VW, had proposed Neumann.
His election to replace Hartz simultaneously dealt a blow to conservative Lower Saxony premier Christian Wulff, who together with Pischetsrieder opposed Neumann due to his strong loyalties to the trade union.
Neumann had worked for the executive board of IG Metall for 16 years and for Wulff is politically tainted due to his romantic link to Andrea Nahles, the leading member of the rival Social Democrats' left wing.
The state of Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen is based, owns an 18.2 percent voting right stake in VW.
Wulff, together with his economics minister, sits on the board as caretaker for Lower Saxony's interest, and the popular Christian Democrat has made little secret of his attempts to undermine Piech's authority.
But a reported coup attempt against the chairman was foiled thanks to support for Piech from the 10 board members representing Volkswagen's largely unionised employees.
All 10 employee representatives on VW's supervisory board along with Piech and shareholder representatives Michael Frenzel and Klaus Liesen were enough to ensure a two-thirds majority in favour of Neumann.
Earlier, a spokesman for Lower Saxony said the state government congratulated Neumann on his election and wished for a good cooperation in the future.
Hartz, a member of the Social Democrats and of the IG Metall, stepped down after the company uncovered evidence that his department had misappropriated corporate funds to allegedly grease leaders of the carmaker's powerful works council.
A close ally of outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the architect of Germany's labour market reforms, Hartz is under investigation by the Brunswick prosecutor's office for his potential involvement in the scandal.
Hartz, who resigned to take responsibility for irregularities in his department, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
|
