The governing coalition of Germany has decided to strip Gerhard Schroeder of his perks as Chancellor due to his ties with russia.
This was reported by Spiegel with reference to the relevant decree.
It is reported that this decision was taken due to the refusal of the head of the government to leave a number of executive positions in russian corporations.
To prevent the gesture from appearing "political", the coalition has put in place a clause allowing other former chancellors, such as Angela Merkel, to be suspended in the future as well.
The employees of Schroeder's office, which is to be maintained at a cost of around 400,000 euros per year, are expected to be asked to complete their regular duties and "take care of other matters". Some employees have already voluntarily left their positions to protest the politician's relations with the russian Federation.
In spite of the restrictions, Schroeder was allowed to retain his personal security guards and his state pension.
It should be mentioned that Schroeder is a politician who took part in the establishment of two " Nord streams" and that German officials, like himself, became heads of russian corporations. This led to the penetration of russian capital into Germany and its corruption .