The former chancellor gave up his post as head of the supervisory board on Friday.
(Photo: imago/ITAR-TASS)
Berlin At federal level, there is disagreement about how to deal with former chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) after his decision to resign from his position on the supervisory board of the Russian energy group Rosneft. FDP federal deputy Wolfgang Kubicki rejected demands at the weekend that Schröder should give up further jobs at Russian companies.
“No further action is required, neither by the ex-Chancellor nor by the German Bundestag,” said Kubicki, who is also Bundestag Vice-President, to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Online Sunday, Print Monday). “Consequences are understandable and understandable, but the line of humiliation should not be crossed,” he said.
Among other things, he contradicted Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). He had asked Schröder to stop further activities for companies from Russia after resigning from the supervisory board post at Rosneft. “We note that it is now happening to one and the others must follow,” said Scholz on Saturday.
Rosneft announced on Friday that Schröder would not extend his term as head of the supervisory board. The former chancellor is currently still nominated for the supervisory board of the energy company Gazprom and works as a leading lobbyist for the Gazprom subsidiaries Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2.
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The Bundestag recently cut Schröder’s office and employees in response to his continued work for Russian companies during the Ukraine war. At the same time, the EU Parliament called for sanctions against him. At the same time, procedures are still underway in the SPD to exclude the ex-chancellor from the party.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert told the Rheinische Post that Schröder’s decision on Rosneft was “probably not entirely coincidental” and “unfortunately much too late”. However, Kühnert kept a low profile on the EU Parliament’s specific demand for sanctions against Schröder. “I have no reason to hold a protective hand over him. If there are clear, objective criteria for sanctions lists, then of course they apply to everyone. Others will have to judge whether that is the case here.”
Schröder gives up board positions at Rosneft
Chancellor Scholz had previously opposed the sanctions demand from Brussels and, with a view to the withdrawal of some of the former chancellor’s privileges by the Bundestag, said: “This is the decision that is now necessary, I do not think any more are necessary.”
There was criticism of this attitude at the weekend, for example from the ranks of the Greens in the EU Parliament. The Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer accused Scholz of refusing plain text. “Scholz’s statements about the Schröder cause show hesitation,” Bütikofer told the Handelsblatt. Scholz speaks “more as an SPD man and less as a chancellor”.
More: Is Gerhard Schröder gambling away his reputation as former chancellor?