Berlin Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is coming under increasing pressure because of his connections to Russia. After the ex-SPD leader’s recent statements in an interview about the war in Ukraine, there are now cross-party calls for the former chancellor to be placed on the EU sanctions list.
“He belongs as soon as possible on the sanctions list of Putin profiteers,” said FDP presidium member Moritz Körner to the Handelsblatt. Schröder is now “Putin’s most important man in Germany,” added the MEP. “He no longer belongs to the crème de la crème of German domestic politics, but to the crème de la Kremlin.”
The Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer is also pushing for punitive measures. It should be checked whether sanctions can be imposed on Schröder and other former European politicians “who have since sold themselves to Vladimir Putin,” Bütikofer told the Handelsblatt.
The Greens European politician Rasmus Andresen described sanctions against Schröder as “urgently overdue”. “Schröder is Putin’s most loyal voice in the EU and a nasty gas lobbyist who has become completely indifferent to human rights,” Andresen told the Handelsblatt.
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The SPD foreign expert Michael Roth had previously advocated EU sanctions against Schröder. “Another indication of the tragedy of the Schröder case is that we have to seriously discuss sanctions against a former Chancellor who has become a Russian energy lobbyist,” said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag of the dpa news agency. “The European Union has to keep checking who is jointly responsible for this war, who justifies and defends it or plays it down. Ultimately, the EU must decide on this.”
There are already well over 800 people on the EU sanctions list. This means that they are no longer allowed to enter the EU and any assets in the EU are frozen. Among those affected are the two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and dozens of Russian and Belarusian oligarchs.
Schröder has been heavily criticized for not giving up his posts at Russian energy companies despite the Russian attack on Ukraine. The SPD leadership had asked him to do so in a letter two months ago and demanded a “timely” answer. Schröder failed to answer this to the party leadership.
SPD leadership urges Schröder to leave the party
Instead, he spoke for the first time since the beginning of the war in an interview excerpts of which were published by the New York Times over the weekend. In it, Schröder once again made no move to distance himself from Putin.
SPD leader Saskia Esken then asked Schröder on Monday to resign from the party after almost 60 years of SPD membership. The Green politician Bütikofer considers such appeals to be insufficient. “The SPD should kick him out,” he said.
>> Read also: How the SPD wants to get rid of Schröder – and has failed so far
The Social Democrats were patient for a long time with their former chancellor, who started working for the Nord Stream pipeline company shortly after leaving government office. He is still the chairman of the shareholders’ committee there.
He is also the head of the supervisory board at the Russian state energy giant Rosneft and is still registered in the responsible commercial register as the chairman of the board of directors of Nord Stream 2 AG. He has been nominated for the supervisory board of the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter is now also calling for sanctions. “The fact that Schröder still hasn’t distanced himself from Putin and Russia only shows how deeply he is in their service,” the member of the Bundestag told the Handelsblatt. “Therefore, sanctions should be advocated, which should also hit Putin’s clique. That includes Schröder.”
Bundestag targets Schröder privileges
At the same time, Kiesewetter sharply criticized Schröder’s behavior. It is “deeply irritating for Central European democrats” that such a “clear lobbyist of Russian interests” as a former chancellor with tax-financed office equipment should interfere in the German debate and act and lobby against German interests and values.
Bütikofer also believes it is necessary to withdraw Schröder’s official appointments, which he still enjoys as a former chancellor. The Budget Committee of the Bundestag is now also dealing with the issue.
>> Read also: Schröder surprises with visit to Moscow – meeting with Putin
According to information from the Handelsblatt, the expenses for the Bundestag office of the former chancellor are to be put to the test. Final decisions should therefore be made on May 19th in the so-called “cleansing session” of the committee. The aim is to reduce the budget item for Schröder’s office in the budget of the Chancellery.
A spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group told the “Bild” newspaper: “We are currently reviewing and revising the applicable regulations for the equipment of former chancellors.”
Last year, 407,000 euros flowed from the state coffers for personnel expenses in Schröder’s office. This emerges from a response from the Chancellery to a request from the left-wing faction, which is available to the Handelsblatt. The expenses relate to paying employees in Schröder’s office.
According to the federal government, a salary of B6 is planned for the office manager position, i.e. around 10,400 euros per month. Depending on their professional experience, the other employees earn between 13,700 and 19,400 euros a month.
Schröder’s longtime office manager and speechwriter Albrecht Funk turned his back on his boss a few weeks ago. Three other employees of the ex-SPD politician also gave up their posts. With the farewell of the employees, the office of the former chancellor is practically deserted.
More: Schröder receives 407,000 euros for his former chancellor’s office – the CSU considers this unacceptable