Now it’s official: Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder can remain a member of the SPD, even though he didn’t break away from his longtime friend Putin, even after the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder can now remain in the SPD for good, despite his close ties to Russia. The applications for an appeal against a corresponding decision by the SPD Arbitration Commission in Hanover were rejected as inadmissible by the Federal Arbitration Commission in the final instance. This emerges from a letter from the committee to the applicants, which is available to the German Press Agency. The procedure is then considered to be completed.
“The appeals of the applicants against the decision of the district arbitration commission of the SPD district of Hanover, which was made on the basis of the hearing on December 2, 2022, will be rejected,” the letter says. The applications were made by the local associations Leipzig-Ost/Nordost and Leutenbach in Baden-Württemberg.
Schröder was chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and party leader from 1999 to 2004. After he was voted out as head of government, he worked for Russian energy companies for many years and is still considered a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from whom he did not break away even after the Russian attack on Ukraine. A few weeks after the war began, he even visited Putin in Moscow – allegedly to mediate.
Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder does not have to reckon with any sanctions either
The proceedings against Schröder were initiated by 17 SPD branches. In the first instance, the SPD sub-district Region Hannover decided in the summer of 2022 that Schröder had not violated the party order. In contrast, seven SPD branches appealed, which was rejected in March by the arbitration commission of the Hanover district. The justification stated that it “cannot be determined with sufficient certainty” that Schröder violated statutes, principles or the party order or was guilty of an dishonorable act.
The two local associations, Leutenbach and Leipzig East/Northeast, appealed against this decision to the Federal Arbitration Commission. Now there is clarity: Schröder can remain a party member. An exclusion would have been the hardest possible punishment against him according to the SPD regulations. Milder sanctions were a reprimand or a temporary denial of the right to hold party functions. That’s not happening now either.
Proceedings against Gerhard Schröder
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Schröder had welcomed the decision of the arbitration commission in Hanover as “legally solid and convincing as well as politically consistent”. The party leadership has long emphasized that the ex-chancellor is isolated in the SPD. However, it is unclear how she will continue to deal with him. That will become apparent before the federal party conference in December at the latest. Normally all former chairmen are invited. So far, the party leadership has left open whether this still applies to Schröder.
At the party conference, the SPD wants to redefine its foreign policy baselines and thus also its attitude towards Russia. It is the first SPD party conference since Russia attacked Ukraine.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
