Germany’s governing coalition parties are set to pass the necessary legislation this week to strip former chancellor Gerhard Schröder of his privileges.
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It is about the termination of funding for the work of Schroeder’s office, to which he is entitled as a former chancellor. Ruling party budget committee members Dennis Rode, Sven-Christian Kindler and Otto Fricke said the committee would agree on the document on Thursday. The justification will be that the chancellor does not use the office space available to him and the rates of the bureau employees who quit after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
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“Thus, the basis for staffing and allocating premises for the former chancellor disappears,” the draft document says.
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Already on May 19, the chancellor will lose the opportunity to use the office space allocated to him. At the same time, Schroeder will retain other privileges of the ex-chancellor, in particular, pension and security.
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In recent months, Schroeder has come under fire in Germany for working for Russian companies. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with the ZDF TV channel on March 4 that it would be right if Schroeder refused to work in Russian companies. The Social Democratic Party of Germany, which Schröder is a member of, is considering expelling him.
