Schröder, a former Putin-linked chancellor, launched legal action against the Bundestag

Former German chancellor Hegard SchroederHaving become a complicated figure because of his links to Vladimir Putin, he has launched legal proceedings against his country’s House of Representatives, which has stripped him of part of his benefits, his lawyer told AFP on Friday (August 12).

Information related to legal action”ok“, lawyer Michael Nagel pointed out. In addition, a spokesperson for the Berlin Administrative Court confirmed that a complaint had indeed been filed.

Read moreClinging to his cozy deals with Moscow, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has become a political pariah in Germany.

In May, the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, decided to deny the former Social Democratic Party leader (1999-2005) some of his privileges as chancellor, including offices reserved by the federal government. Then the representatives promisedDraw the consequences of its behavior (…) in the face of Russian invasion of Ukraine“, according to the Bundestag’s budget committee. But his lawyer, speaking on regional public radio NDR on Friday morning, said the decision “Illegal“, with Hegard Schroeder”Just got to know from the media“. According to Michael Nagel, he did not have the opportunity to speak before the parliamentary committee responsible for ruling on these benefits. The Bundestag does not want to comment on the complaint at this stage.

Gerhard Schröder, 78, developed a friendship with the Russian president in the early 2000s, whom he described in 2004 as “A perfect democrat“. The former leader, a mentor to current President Olaf Scholes, decided in May to step down from the board of directors of oil company Rosneft and said he had given up joining gas company Gazprom. But unlike most former European leaders who were on the governing boards of Russian companies before the war, Gerhard Schroder, Nord Stream AG Heavily involved in the controversial gas pipelines between Russia and Germany, he has been slow to resign from his various functions.The German Social Democratic Party (SPD), however, decided this week to keep him in its ranks.

Read moreGermany loses Russian gas, “an energy bomb”

As a former president, he was entitled to several offices in the House of Representatives and was allocated a budget to hire staff. The concession costs taxpayers €400,000 a year. Abandoned by some of his aides in recent months, he still retains his police protection and retirement pension as a former chancellor.

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