German court: Former Chancellor Schröder has no right to office in the Bundestag

BERLIN — Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wanted his seven-room office and his staff of four back in the Bundestag office. But the Berlin Administrative Court ruled that he must continue to work without access to his office and his team.

In May 2022, the budget committee of the German parliament had decided to no longer grant Schröder these privileges. The 79-year-old had faced strong blowback for his continued ties to Russia, which have included seats on the boards of Russian energy companies and personal friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He filed a lawsuit against the committee’s decision in August 2022.

For more than 50 years, a longstanding informal practice allows chancellors to have office space and staff in the German parliament’s buildings in Berlin to be used for the completion of tasks arising from their former position. So far, the offices have been made available for life. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, still has nine employees.

According to the court, however, this practice does not give rise to an entitlement, as these privileges are not laid down in law. Schröder was not present at the hearing in the capital on Thursday.

Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Schröder has also been isolated within his own party, Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), because of his personal ties to Putin and business links to Russian energy companies. There were even attempts to expel him, but at the beginning of March a party committee decided that he will remain an SPD member. Schröder was Germany’s chancellor from 1998 to 2005.