German ex-leader loses perks over Russia links

GERHARD SCHROEDER, the former chancellor of Germany, is set to be stripped of his taxpayer-funded staff and office in the Bundestag amid deep concern about his links to Vladimir Putin.

According to the German state broadcaster ARD, Mr Schroeder will keep his pension and bodyguards but lose access to the office under a motion proposed by the Bundestag’s budget committee.

The motion is part of efforts to reform privileges for former chancellors and may be extended to Angela Merkel as well as her successors, ARD reported yesterday.

However, the move is also linked to Mr Schroeder’s reputation as an unashamedly pro-moscow politician with a background in lobbying for Russian energy companies.

Mr Schroeder is said to have angered colleagues in the ruling Social Democrat Party (SPD) for refusing to end his role as a Gazprom lobbyist since the outbreak of the Ukraine war and for generally having a close relationship with Russia.

This week, Nancy Faeser, the SPD interior minister, called for the ex-chancellor to be expelled from the party over his links to Mr Putin.

Mr Schroeder has also refused to cut professional ties with Russian energy companies, which have paid him millions of euros since he left office in 2004.