GERMANS’ reputation as early risers extends even to their lobbying. One colourful Berlin lobbyist told a television programme why he likes talking to members of the Bundestag over a good breakfast: they have had a night’s sleep, they are ready to listen—and their refrigerators are empty after travelling from their home districts back to Berlin.
A new book, “Die Lobby-Republik” by Hans-Martin Tillack, an investigative journalist, sounds an alarm about such activities. Just a few big firms and interest groups had offices in the pre-unification capital, Bonn. But Berlin, to which the government moved in 1999, is becoming infested with lobbyists. An estimated 5,000-6,000 of them now work in the city, compared with the 12,000 in Washington, DC, the trade’s romping-ground. Parliamentwatch, a German pressure group, reported recently that hundreds of lobbyists have passes to enter the Bundestag, approval of which requires the support of a parliamentary party.
Until recently most lobbying was conducted by cautious, conservative industry associations. Numbering over 2,000, these range from the mighty Federation of German Industry (BDI) to the Association for Zoos. But brash new players are joining the game. Many lawyers, from specialist German firms and big international ones like White & Case and WilmerHale, double as lobbyists. International public-...
from The Economist: Business http://ift.tt/1JKTe6q
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