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Gerhard Schröder (SPD): Longtime Putin friend and gas lobbyist
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Jens Schicke / IMAGO
The former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder did not violate the party order of the SPD with his commitment to Russian state-owned companies.
A violation could not be proven to Schröder, the arbitration commission of the SPD sub-district Hanover decided in the first instance.
The decision can be appealed within two weeks.
The SPD local association in Essen-Frohnhausen/Altendorf is already considering this: "For us, nothing has changed in the attitude that Mr. Schröder should be excluded from the SPD," said local chairman Ali Kaan Sevinc of the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post".
The reasoning behind the Arbitration Committee's decision will now be examined more closely.
"There are a few points that we are not satisfied with." "We now have to examine whether we will appeal," says Sevinc.
"It hints at it."
The arbitration commission of the SPD sub-district Hanover region was responsible for the party organization procedure, because Schröder is a member of the associated local association Oststadt-Zoo.
After the sub-district, up to two further instances are possible: the SPD district of Hanover and the SPD Federal Arbitration Commission.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil described the verdict of the arbitration commission as a purely "legal decision".
For the party, one thing is certain: "Politically, Gerhard Schröder is isolated with his positions in the SPD."
Schröder has long been criticized for his close ties to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and the Russian oil and gas industry.
In the opinion of many SPD comrades, even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, he did not sufficiently distance himself from Russia.
Schröder decided in May to give up his position on the board of directors of Rosneft and also announced that he would not take up an offer on the board of the Russian gas company Gazprom.
Nevertheless, the ex-Chancellor continues to be criticized because, in the opinion of many party members, he did not sufficiently distance himself from Russia even after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
SPD leader Esken suggested Schröder's exit
With regard to Russia's attack on Ukraine, Schröder stated that it was the Russian government's responsibility to end the war.
However, the ties to Russia should not be completely severed.
In July, the former chancellor also declared that he wanted to keep in touch with Putin and did not believe in a military solution in Ukraine.
SPD leader Saskia Esken had already suggested to Schröder in April that he leave the party because of his comments on the Ukraine war.
However, the former chancellor is not completely isolated in the SPD.
There are also many SPD members who show solidarity with Schröder, said the managing director of the SPD district in Hanover, Christoph Matterne, on the sidelines of the party organization process.
"They say: If Gerhard Schröder is excluded, then it's over for me after 40 years."
Esken had sharply criticized Schröder for his recent statements about Russia's President Vladimir Putin's alleged willingness to negotiate in the Ukraine war.
"Gerhard Schröder is not acting as an ex-chancellor, but as a businessman, and that's how we should interpret his statements," she told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
»With everything he does and says, he acts in his own interest and in that of his business partners.«
Low chances of elimination procedures
17 regional party associations had therefore applied for regulatory proceedings against him;
there were also other applications that did not meet the formal requirements.
The arbitration commission in Hanover negotiated the proceedings in mid-July, but with the media excluded.
Schröder himself did not appear and had not sent a lawyer.
Schröder has repeatedly stated that he wants to remain a member of the SPD and is relaxed about the regulatory proceedings.
In fact, the legal hurdles for a party penalty or even an exclusion are very high.
According to the SPD, the case against Thilo Sarrazin showed how difficult it is to exclude someone.
Only at the third attempt did the party succeed in expelling the former Berlin finance senator.
muk/mrc/dpa