Politician in W. German Vote Scandal Found Dead

Uwe Barschel, the former premier of a West German state who had resigned under fire over an election scandal last month, was found dead Sunday in a room of the luxury Beau Rivage Hotel in Geneva.

A hotel spokesman said that Barschel, 43, former head of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, was discovered lifeless in a filled bathtub. The Hamburg-based newspaper Bild reported that Barschel had taken his own life, but Geneva police reported that a preliminary investigation showed no signs of suicide. Nor were there any signs of violence.

They said an autopsy was being performed Sunday with the results to be disclosed today.

Barschel was last seen alive about 5 p.m. Saturday in the hotel.

Barschel, who had been considered one of West Germany’s rising politicians in the ruling Christian Democratic Party, resigned Sept. 25 after charges that he participated in a “dirty tricks” campaign to discredit his opponent in the Sept. 13 state election.

Hired Detectives

A press aide employed by Barschel, Reiner Pfeiffer, told the newsmagazine Der Spiegel that detectives were hired to spy on Social Democratic candidate Bjoern Engholm.

Pfeiffer was quoted in the magazine as saying that detectives were to look for evidence that Engholm was having extramarital affairs.

Pfeiffer also said Barschel ordered him to send an anonymous letter to tax officials suggesting that Engholm cheated on his taxes, the Der Spiegel article said.

Pfeiffer told the newspaper Bild after learning of Barschel’s death: “Oh, my God. I can’t grasp this. Why didn’t he tell the truth? It wouldn’t have been half so bad for him if he had.”

Barschel denied any knowledge of Pfeiffer’s actions but resigned, saying he did so because he bore overall responsibility for “the machinations of a minor press aide.”

A Mini-Watergate

The West German press has given extensive play to the scandal, calling it a mini-Watergate.

Barschel’s body was found shortly after noon Sunday by a reporter from another German magazine, Stern, who had an appointment for an interview.

Because of the controversy, some critics of Barschel had demanded that he resign his seat in the state Parliament, before answering charges in an official inquiry that he hired Pfeiffer to discredit his Social Democratic opponent.

Barschel’s Christian Democrats lost their outright legislative majority in the election and are now negotiating with a third party, the liberal Free Democrats, to see if they can form a coalition government in Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany’s northernmost state.

The election result shook the national leadership of the party, led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. It was the fifth disappointing result in six state elections this year.