Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is suing the Bundestag for the restoration of his special rights, which were revoked in May. The 78-year-old demands that a former chancellor’s office with staff be made available to him again, as his Hanoverian lawyer Michael Nagel told the German press agency on Friday.
The case was filed at the administrative court in Berlin, Nagel said. The Bundestag Budget Committee’s decision to cut Schröder’s funds to equip his Bundestag office and put him on hold is illegal, according to a statement from the law firm available to dpa. It is “stated that former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder no longer addresses the so-called ‘after-effects of official duties'”. be determined and what procedure should be followed otherwise,” the statement continued.
“Absolute Principality State”
The entire process is “written on the forehead that reasons other than those specified by the “new rules” were decisive for the decision of the budget committee.” Such decisions are more reminiscent of an absolutist princely state “in terms of the way they came about” and should not last in a democratic constitutional state, Schröder’s lawyers explained.
The former Social Democrat chancellor has been heavily criticized for his commitment to Russian energy companies and his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Budget Committee did not justify partially canceling Schröder’s privileges with his work for energy companies or his attitude towards the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. On the contrary, the “equipment of former chancellors must be carried out in accordance with the on-going obligations of the Cabinet”, the regulation reads. Apparently, parliamentarians could not see this in Schröder.
400,000 euros in personnel expenses
Last year, more than 400,000 euros left the state coffers for personnel expenses in Schröder’s office. Schröder will continue to receive his pension of 8,300 euros after the decision, in addition to personal security.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) hailed the May decision as “logical”. In the context of the decision, the European Parliament came out in favor of sanctions against Schröder by a large majority. It was only on Monday that the SPD arbitration committee in Hanover, Schröder’s hometown, rejected the expulsion of the former party chancellor. (pap/jeg)