German ex-leader Schroeder to remain member of Scholz's SPD despite Russia ties

[March 02, 2023]   BERLIN (Reuters) - Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has become increasingly derided in Germany for his ties to Russia, will be allowed to remain a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), a party arbitration committee decided on Thursday.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin are depicted in this graffiti exchanging a kiss at the East Side Gallery in Berlin, Germany April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Anne Barth

Schroeder, 78, had not violated any party rules, said the committee, confirming a decision in August that stopped a move by a local chapter of the SPD to expel him.

The decision could be appealed at the federal arbitration committee of the party that current Chancellor Olaf Scholz also belongs to, but according to party sources, this route is not considered very promising.

There have been several motions to expel Schroeder, who was stripped of his right to a publicly funded office in May, amid mounting dismay at his refusal to distance himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

While chancellor from 1998 to 2005, Schroeder forged the relationship with Putin that came to overshadow much of his career.

He travelled to Moscow in late July for a meeting with Putin, after which he said that Russia wanted a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy branded Schroeder's behaviour as "disgusting".

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Friederike Heine)

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