The answer appears to be yes and no. Bild in an editorial comment rhetorically asked "So what?" about the mayor's sexuality, and added, "The only thing that matters is whether he is making good or bad politics ... and whether he is treating voters respectably."
But the conservative daily Die Welt in its lead editorial did raise the issue of the Schill insinuation of cronyism in view of the mayor giving his gay friend Kusch a top political position.
While using the term "villain" to describe Schill, the editorial said, "The devil can also sometimes be right. Using this scandal as an example, it should be publicly discussed whether homosexual relationships, which in themselves should no longer be a stigma for anyone, must be looked at from the perspective of possible cronyism."
Schill's behavior in the affair was briefly investigated by federal prosecutors in the light of a possible coercion attempt.
In their last meeting with von Beust before he was fired, Schill allegedly had threatened the mayor by saying he would out von Beust and Kusch, a threat which could be interpreted under German law as coercion. Von Beust later told the weekly magazine Focus that Schill had threatened to out the mayor and justice minister on television that same evening.
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