Gerhard Schröder is allowed to keep Lower Saxony’s state medal despite being close to Putin

Gerhard Schröder is allowed to keep Lower Saxony’s state medal despite being close to Putin

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has been sharply criticized for his closeness to Vladimir Putin. The city of Hanover has already revoked his honorary citizenship, but he is allowed to keep a medal.

His friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has already cost former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) his honorary citizenship in Hanover. Despite the growing criticism of Schröder’s close connections to Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, he is allowed to keep the Lower Saxony state medal for the time being. Schröder received the state’s highest award in 1999 because he had rendered great service to Lower Saxony as Prime Minister, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) said in Hanover on Tuesday. “There are currently no considerations to change this.” The CDU MP Jens Nacke had previously asked Schröder in the state parliament to think about returning the state medal.

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The regulations for the state medal expressly provide that the Prime Minister can subsequently revoke the award if a recipient proves “unworthy of this award through his later conduct”. However, the State Chancellery is not aware of any cases in which the medal was withdrawn by the state.

The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman stressed that after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Weil repeatedly demanded that Schröder end his involvement with Russian energy companies as soon as possible, thereby making it clear that Russia’s actions were completely unacceptable.

Source: Stern

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