Former Chancellor Schröder wants his staff and his office in Berlin back. He has announced that he will sue the Bundestag for his withdrawn special rights. Politicians are outraged.
The CSU has denied former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder any decency because of his lawsuit against the Bundestag to restore his special rights, which were revoked in May. “Gerhard Schröder has lost all sense of decency,” wrote CSU General Secretary Martin Huber on Twitter. “As a Putin lobbyist, he definitely does not represent German interests. In return, he wants special rights at the taxpayer’s expense? Brazen!”
He added: “But he is still very welcome in the SPD.” Huber was referring to the SPD party order process, in which the sub-district Hannover region responsible for him had rejected any sanctions against him, despite his commitment to Russian energy companies and his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bavaria’s SPD boss: Schröder should face criticism
Bavaria’s SPD leader Florian von Brunn has massively criticized former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s (SPD) lawsuit against the Bundestag. “He should rather face the justified criticism and be calm. He no longer has any employees,” said von Brunn on Friday of the German Press Agency in Munich.
FDP defends withdrawal of special rights
The FDP in the Bundestag has defended the Bundestag decision to withdraw special rights from Schröder (SPD). “The budget committee rightly withdrew Gerhard Schröder’s office and staff positions,” said the parliamentary manager of the FDP parliamentary group, Stephan Thomae, in Berlin. The official equipment is intended so that the Federal Chancellor can continue to carry out tasks for the country after their term of office. “The exact opposite is the case with Mr. Schröder, he is clearly acting against Germany’s interests,” emphasized the FDP politician.
Thomae now explained: “In general, a clear regulation for the official equipment of former Chancellors would make sense, i.e. for what and under what conditions financial resources are paid out.” Funds should also be reduced with increasing distance to the term of office. Because the official equipment has nothing to do with old-age insurance. For this, former chancellors received a pension.
FDP housekeeper Otto Fricke defended the budget committee’s decision. “As householders, we always have to make sure that this money is used sensibly – and that was no longer the case with the former chancellor’s office,” he told the editorial network Germany.
Kubicki on Schröder’s lawsuit: “It’s his right”
Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki sees Schröder’s lawsuit calmly. “I think the probability of success of Gerhard Schröder’s lawsuit against the German Bundestag is extremely low, but it is his right to have this checked by a court,” said the deputy FDP chairman of the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Kubicki said that regardless of this legal dispute, it would make sense if there were clear guidelines for the Chancellor’s follow-up offices. “In my view, years to decades of full staffing and equipment is completely disproportionate and unreasonable for the taxpayer.”
Hebestreit: Legal recourse is basically open to everyone
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit commented: “In principle, legal action is open to everyone in a legal dispute.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) welcomed the committee’s decision in May as “logical”. A large majority of the European Parliament voted in favor of sanctions against Schröder. On Monday, the SPD arbitration committee in Schröder’s hometown of Hanover rejected the expulsion of the former chancellor from the party.
Source: Stern
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