The 40-page audit, which was conducted between September 2024 and January 2025, is said to have indicated structural issues regarding responsibility at the museum, as well as personal tensions among staff. However, clearer details have yet to be released.
Although the committee session took place behind closed doors, MPs later spoke to the press regarding the matter.
The Pirate Party’s Sven Clement said: “There was a feeling that the board of directors should decide how to proceed, and the Ministry seems to feel it will wait and see what the directors do, before offering final approval on what happens next.”
Minister of Culture, Eric Thill of the DP, declared himself unwilling to let that stand. “The Ministry was transparent from the beginning. However, the management of a public institution is down to the president and the board of directors. That’s why these committees exist. The Ministry has been kept informed from the start and this continues to be the case. I will continue to monitor the whole process closely.”
Mudam president Jean-Paul Olinger, who is new to the post, will be required to make decisions with the board of directors in order to prepare the museum for the future.
Despite the criticism and numerous reports circling around Mudam director Bettina Steinbrügge, there remained no doubts about her character, said LSAP MP Franz Fayot. “For me it is clear that the general director is not the issue here. I think it is more the fact that there were a number of issues at play with the distribution of staff roles and the functioning of the museum’s management.
The Greens said they were satisfied after the session, which was held due to criticism that the culture minister had failed to show transparency during the case. Changes take time, said Green MP Djuna Bernard.
“I have the feeling, now and following the last meeting, that the Mudam team and their new president are taking this very seriously. They have already given a lot of thought to their response to the various claims and have made use of consultants to determine how to proceed.”
However, questions remain regarding how various ministries can monitor the governance of public institutions.
