The Ministry of Defense of a European country complained about appointments based on acquaintances

Employees of the German Ministry of Defense expressed dissatisfaction with the personnel policy of the ministry. Welt am Sonntag writes about this with reference to internal documents of the Ministry of Defense.

The newspaper cites an anonymous complaint from department employees, which states that acquaintances, political networks and “special trusting relationships,” but not competence, play a key role in appointments.

One of the reasons for the complaint was the appointment of Nils Hilmer to the post of chief of staff of the Secretary of State. According to the newspaper, the post went to Hilmer without competition, and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense did not allow the staff council to participate in the appointment procedure. The council plans to challenge the decision in court.

As the publication notes, the authors of the complaint fear that open criticism could affect their careers. They called the ministry itself a “self-service shop” that turned into “prey of the ruling party.”