Investigating Previous Chancellor's Special Privileges Raised by FDP
Gerhard Schröder, the former SPD Chancellor of Germany, has found himself under scrutiny after dismissing the findings of several specialist laboratories regarding Alexei Navalny's poisoning with the chemical warfare agent Novichok as "speculation." This statement has led to the FDP, a German political party, questioning the state privileges enjoyed by Schröder.
Schröder, who has been the chairman of the supervisory board for the project company of the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2, has also been involved in firms connected to the project. He has been a key lobbyist for Gazprom, a Russian and Kremlin-linked energy company, which is the sole shareholder of the project company for Nord Stream 2.
The FDP's budget expert, Otto Fricke, has stated that if one represents other interests in a position, one should check whether the reasons for the pension have ceased to exist. This statement is in reference to Schröder's continued involvement in projects with ties to Russia.
In addition to his role in Nord Stream 2, Schröder has been chairman of the supervisory board of the largest Russian oil company, Rosneft, for three years. This has led to accusations from Navalny, a Russian opposition politician and Putin critic, that Schröder is acting as Putin's errand boy.
Schröder's Berlin office received a claim of approximately 561,000 euros from the state treasury for employee payments in 2017. This is a significant amount considering that for the fiscal year 2021, only one staff position is planned for Schröder's office, while there are two planned positions for the office of the late former CDU Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Former chancellors in Germany receive a lifetime office with staff and equipment, a service car with a driver, personal protection, structural security measures, security technology, and object protection. However, the FDP's questioning of Schröder's state privileges suggests that there may be concerns about the continued necessity of these privileges in light of Schröder's ongoing ties to Russia.
As the situation continues to develop, it remains to be seen how the German government will respond to the FDP's calls for an investigation into Schröder's state privileges. Schröder himself has yet to comment on the matter.
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