As a Putin friend and lobbyist for Rosneft and Nord Stream 2 AG, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is already a controversial figure in the Ukraine crisis. Now he is also to become a Gazprom supervisory board member. German politicians are now questioning his appanage.
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) recently criticized “saber rattling” in connection with the Ukraine crisis. However, not a “saber rattling” by Russia, which has gathered more than 100,000 soldiers on the border with the neighboring country. On the contrary, Schröder’s accusation went to Ukraine and NATO. Statements with which Schröder not only fueled criticism of his party’s unclear position in the conflict, but also reinforced the impression among the allies that Germany was too close to Russia and was not clear enough about its political friends in the West.
Regardless of all this, Schröder is now going one better. Despite the current situation, the ex-chancellor should get another job in the Russian gas business. Schröder, who is considered a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been nominated for the supervisory board of the state-owned company Gazprom, the energy giant announced on Friday in St. Petersburg. Politicians from the FDP and Union reacted with outrage.
“Behaviour of Gerhard Schröder harms Germany”
“Gerhard Schröder’s behavior is damaging Germany. We should talk across parties about the withdrawal of office equipment,” demanded the parliamentary secretary of the CSU in the Bundestag, Stefan Müller, on Friday. “It’s time to think specifically about withdrawing Gerhard Schröder’s equipment from a former chancellor,” wrote the chairwoman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), on Twitter. “He harms the country he is meant to serve and willingly accepts more than good payment for it from an autocrat.” An “apanage from the German state is not compatible” with this. Green economic politician Dieter Janecek told the “Handelsblatt” newspaper that Schröder was a well-paid lobbyist in Putin’s service. “It serves as a fig leaf to justify the Russian government’s aggressive course towards Ukraine and the European Union.” Müller suggested developing cross-party rules for the business activities of former chancellors.
The Gazprom general meeting is scheduled for June 30th. Schröder is to replace Timur Kulibayev, a son-in-law of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was ousted in the wake of the January riots.
Post also at Nord Stream 2 AG
The 77-year-old Schröder already has close ties to other Russian companies. He is Chairman of the Shareholders’ Committee of Nord Stream AG and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nord Stream 2 AG. Both gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea connect Russia and Germany. The former chancellor is also the head of the supervisory board at the Russian state energy company Rosneft.
Source: Stern
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