Bundesbank President Under Fire in Perks Scandal

Ernst Welteke, the president of the Bundesbank, is facing calls for his resignation from politicians after reports surfaced that he accepted perks from a leading commercial bank two years ago totalling nearly €8,000. A number of figures from both the ruling Social Democrats and opposition Christian Democrats have called for Welteke's resignation, saying that if reports were true that the Bundesbank president's four-day family holiday in Berlin was paid for by Dresdner Bank he should step down. Germany's Der Spiegel magazine quoted Welteke confirming Dresdner Bank paid a €7,661 bill for a four-day stay in a luxury hotel after he appeared at a bank party on New Year's Eve 2001. The bill also covered costs for his wife, young son, and his 25-year-old son and his girlfriend. Welteke has rejected the calls to step down.