There is no statutory regulation as to what equipment a former chancellor is entitled to – but Gerhard Schröder still considers the Bundestag’s decision to revoke his privileges to be “contrary to the rule of law”. One expert and ex-minister believes he may well be right.
The constitutional lawyer and former Federal Defense Minister Rupert Scholz attests that Gerhard Schröder has good prospects of success in his lawsuit against the Bundestag for the withdrawal of his former chancellor privileges. “Schröder’s chances are good,” Scholz told the “Bild” newspaper. “Morally one can disapprove of his friendship with Putin. Legally, the sanctions of the Bundestag cannot be justified.” For this reason “the party exclusion procedure went wrong,” said Scholz.
Schröder is appealing to the Berlin Administrative Court against the Bundestag’s decision to cut funding for his former chancellor’s office and the associated staff positions. The decision of the Bundestag’s budget committee was “contrary to the rule of law,” Schröder’s lawyer Michael Nagel told Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR).
Schröder has been criticized for months for his commitment to Russian energy companies and his closeness to President Vladimir Putin. Because of his political and economic entanglements with the Russian power elite, party order proceedings were also initiated against Schröder. However, the arbitration commission of the SPD sub-district in Hanover rejected a party expulsion on Monday.
So far, there has been no legal regulation of what equipment former chancellors are entitled to at state expense – such as office space and staff. While the pensions of the Federal President and members of the Federal Cabinet are regulated by law, the endowment for former Chancellors is based solely on decisions by the Budget Committee of the Bundestag.
