Gerhard Schröder does not get his office back at state costs

Former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder remains denied his own office in the German Bundestag. According to a decision by the Federal Administrative Court, the SPD politician could try to enforce his claim to the Federal Constitutional Court. The Bundestag’s budget committee decided in May 2022 to shut down Schröder’s office. He complained about it.

The federal judges in Leipzig dismissed the lawsuit in the third instance. They explained that the administrative courts were not the right address for Schröders. “It is a constitutional dispute so that it is denied to the administrative courts,” said the presiding judge of the 2nd Senate, Markus know.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe must clarify whether an ex-Federal Chancellor will perceive after-effects from his former office and whether he is entitled to an office. Schröder’s lawyers initially left open whether they wanted to continue to pursue the dispute before the Federal Constitutional Court.

Gerhard Schröder did not personally take part in the trial in Leipzig. His lawyer Michael Nagel said that the 81-year-old expressly asked to apologize in court. He would have liked to come, but was “not disposed of” for health reasons.

The ex-chancellor had already failed in the two lower courts. The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg had seen no legal claim to the provision of the office and personnel by the state. From the perspective of the federal judges, the OVG should not have decided that. However, they still rejected Schröder’s revision against the judgment because it was correct in the result.

The former Federal Chancellor had recently been able to use seven rooms in the Bundestag and had five differently paid employees. His successor Angela Merkel also has a Bundestag office.

It was decades of practice that former Federal Chancellor could use an office in the Bundestag. In the spring of 2022, however, the traffic light coalition reorganized the payment of offices from former Federal Chancellor. It was made dependent on whether the ex-politicians actually still perform tasks in connection with their former office, i.e. maintain or talk patients.

In the case of Schröder, this was denied. His lawyer Ralph Heiermann criticized this as a “completely arbitrary decision”. Schröder had been sharply criticized again and again because of his connections to Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin – also in his own party.

However, the provision of office and staff for former Chancellor has not yet been regulated by law, but various advances had not found a majority in the Bundestag. Federal administrative judge knowed that a regulation would be desirable. It should be stipulated who is entitled to a Bundestag office for how long and to what extent.

This article has been updated.