The social democratic politician is criticized for his closeness to Vladimir Putin
Former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has sued the Bundestag, the federal parliament, for the withdrawal of his privileges as former head of the German government, a punitive measure taken last May for his work for Russian energy consortia and his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. His lawyer Michael Nagel stressed that Schröder wants to recover the office and the collaborators that were awarded to him by the lower house after his withdrawal from power.
In a note sent to the German agency DPA, Nagel stressed that the veteran Social Democratic politician (SPD) considers the withdrawal of funds for his office and the personnel assigned to it “arbitrary and illegal” on the grounds that “it does not comply with its public obligations’ as former head of the German executive. After noting that the lawsuit has been filed with the Berlin Administrative Court, Schröder’s lawyer argues that the German Parliament has not determined what his obligations are, how their compliance is determined, or what the procedure is for doing so.
The decision taken by the Bundestag to withdraw his privileges from the former Social Democratic chancellor is reminiscent “of the way in which it was taken from an absolutist principality” and should not take place in a democratic state of law, writes Nagel, who describes the measure as “arbitrary” and calls for the possibility of Gerhard Schröder ruling on the case and the possibility of a judicial settlement, as well as the end of the debate on the subject through the media.
Criticism for not distancing himself from Putin
After the start of the war in Ukraine, the former German head of government has been criticized for not distancing himself from Putin, with whom he has a long-standing personal friendship, and for not abandoning his work for Russian energy consortiums. However, the budget committee of the German parliament argued, however, when partially withdrawing the privileges of the former head of the federal government that he was not fulfilling his public commitments as federal chancellor emeritus.
The maintenance of Schröder’s office and staff last year in the German capital cost 400,000 euros. The former federal chancellor continues to receive a lifetime pension of 8,300 euros gross per month and retains the bodyguards responsible for guaranteeing his safety.
The decision to withdraw the remaining privileges was celebrated by the current head of the German government, also a Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, and the European Parliament. Scholz described as “correct” the measure adopted by the budget committee of the German lower house. The Strasbourg chamber had requested last spring by a large majority the issuance of sanctions against Schröder. Although his position on the war in Ukraine has also been harshly criticized within the SPD, a government party mediation commission last Monday refused to process his expulsion from it.
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