German Politician Bareiß Takes Break Amid Drug and Accident Investigation

German politician Thomas Bareiß, a member of the Bundestag since 2005, announced he is taking a break from his political duties and stepping down from his regional party leadership position. The decision comes amid investigations into allegations that he consumed synthetic drugs and caused a serious traffic accident.

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I have made decisions in the past that I deeply regret and that do not meet the expectations placed upon me.

Bareiß, 51, stated in a personal declaration released through his lawyer that he deeply regrets recent decisions that did not meet the expectations placed upon him. He plans to use the Bundestag's recess period to take time off and focus intensively on his health. He will also suspend his role as district chairman of the CDU Württemberg-Hohenzollern and will not seek re-election to that position.

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The announcement by Bareiß is consequential and deserves our respect.

The public prosecutor's office is investigating Bareiß on suspicion of negligent endangerment of road traffic and negligent bodily harm. Last week, police confiscated the politician's driver's license. According to the prosecutor's office, the investigation is primarily based on blood test results, which indicated the presence of a synthetic drug at the time of the accident, not alcohol.

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Thomas Bareiß should have shown personal integrity in his statement and also resigned his Bundestag seat.

While Bareiß's local party association acknowledged his announcement as "consequential and deserving of our respect," the youth wing of the CDU in his constituency, Junge Union Zollernalb, demanded that he resign his seat in the Bundestag. They expressed deep disappointment that he did not take this step, stating that he had "completely exhausted" the trust of his voters despite his apology.

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Before that, there is the suspicion that the accused caused the traffic accident and was under the influence of a synthetic drug, not alcohol.