Germany to deprive Gerhard Schröder of ex-chancellor privileges over ties to Russia

The ruling coalition of Germany has agreed to take away Gerhard Schröder’s ex-chancellor privileges over his ties to Russia, Der Spiegel reports, citing a corresponding document.

This decision was made following the refusal of the former German chancellor to resign from a senior position in several Russian corporations. To make sure that the gesture does not seem “political”, the ruling coalition added a clause that allows them to take away the privileges of other former chancellors, for example, Angela Merkel, if a similar situation arises in the future.

Employees of Schröder’s office, which receives about €400,000 in funding annually, will be offered to finish their pending tasks and focus on other jobs. Some of the employees have resigned voluntarily as a sign of protest in relation to Schröder’s ties to Russia.

The former chancellor will be allowed to retain a personal security team and his state pension. An attempt to deprive the chancellor of his pension would contradict Germany’s Basic Law.

In late April, Schröder said that Western countries would not be able to isolate Russia through sanctions, calling for a return to negotiations with Moscow.

"You can't isolate a country like Russia in the long run, neither politically nor economically," he said. "German industry needs the raw materials that Russia has. It's not just oil and gas, it's also rare earths. And these are raw materials that cannot simply be substituted."

To this day, Schröder remains chairman of the board of at least two Russian corporations, Nord Stream 2, owned by Gazprom, and Rosneft.