Due to his pro-Russia stances, the former German chancellor was deprived of the benefits of his status. He takes the German Parliament to court.
By the editor
GErhard Schröder is taking the German Parliament to court to oppose the sanctions imposed on him because of his links with Russia and Vladimir Putin. The former German chancellor wants to recover his privileges, his lawyer said.
The 78-year-old former politician had to give up his cabinet and his staff, but retained his pension and a protection team. According to Mr. Schröder’s lawyer, the move by the Bundestag is illegal.
The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) decided at the beginning of the month not to exclude ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from its ranks.
The man has been under fire since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, because of his refusal to condemn the Russian attitude, which damages the reputation of Germany, according to the Bundestag. The former leader, mentor of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz, resolved in May to leave the board of directors of the oil company Rosneft and said he had given up joining that of the gas giant Gazprom.
Unlike most of the former European leaders present before the war in the governing bodies of Russian companies, Mr. Schröder, also very involved in Nord Stream AG, the controversial gas pipelines between Russia and Germany, was slow to resign from its various functions.
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