Ei kannata olla Putlerin, tuon murhaavan ja raiskaavan diktaattorin kaveri. Saksan liittohallitus on eväämässä venäjämieliseltä Putinin ystävältä, ex-liittokansleri Gerhard Schröderiltä valtion sponssaaman toimiston henkilökuntineen. Syynä Gerhardin venäjämielisyydelle toki sekin, että saa tuloja erilaisista lobbauksistaan nykyään Venäjältä enemmän kuin Saksalta.
Deutche Welle:
"Germany to cut ex-Chancellor Schröder's state privileges amid Russia scandal
The former chancellor has come under heavy criticism for refusing to distance himself from Russia and Vladimir Putin. Now the German government is planning to take away his office and staff, without touching his pension.
Germany's coalition government is prepared to move forward on a plan to strip formerSocial Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of his post-office privileges, as his business and political ties to Russia continue to draw controversy.
The proposal to remove Schröder's privileges was presented as part of a draft budget proposal that was being discussed in the Bundestag's budgetary committee on Thursday. This is only the first of several steps before the proposal could become law.
When a German chancellor steps down, it is customary for them to receive a state-funded office and staff to continue political work, along with a pension.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Schröder's critics say he has not done enough to distance himself from his Russian business ties and President Vladimir Putin, whom Schröder still calls a close personal friend.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told Germany's Welt TV that it was unthinkable that a former chancellor who is now "openly doing lobby work for the criminal rule of Vladimir Putin is still given an office by taxpayers."
What will Schröder lose?
Under the proposal, Schröder would be stripped of his office and staff, which cost €407,000 (roughly $425,000) in taxpayer funds last year and had been more than half a million euros a year as recently as 2017.
But the proposal stops short of demands from opposition Conservatives that the former chancellor also lose his pension, which equates to an annual salary in the region of €100,000 (roughly $105,000). Some even questioned whether this step would be legally possible under broader German pension law.
A new general rule? Or specific to Schröder and Russia?
And although German politicians have been outspoken in criticizing Schröder's Russia ties, these were not explicitly stated in the proposal as reasons for stripping his privileges.
The proposal argues that the "endowment for former federal chancellors should in the future no longer be status-related, but should be based on the continuing the obligations arising from their office."
"The budgetary committee observes that former Chancellor Schröder no longer carries out any duties that result from his former office," the parties' joint motion read, calling for the office to be closed.
Four staff at Schröder's office have already asked for new assignments, in protest at his position on the war in Ukraine, and the motion said any remaining staff would now be responsible for closing up shop.
The release of the plan, which had been widely reported domestically earlier in the week, prompted newspapers to question whether its stated reason was accurate.
An editorial published in the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper said that, should the issue really be a former chancellor no longer being politically active, "then not only Schröder has a problem, but also his successor." Former Chancellor Angela Merkel's staff is "significantly larger and almost twice as expensive" as Schröder's, but she has "not yet taken on any major missions in the service of the country. So why does she need nine employees?" the newspaper asked. Merkel has indicated that she at least plans a break from front line politics, even leaving open the possibility of not returning in an active capacity at all, so far only announcing plans for a memoir."
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https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-cut-ex ... a-61843090