Majority of Germans want ex-chancellor barred for Russia ties

A majority of Germans want former chancellor Gerhard Schröder of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) barred for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a weekend survey reveals, reported dpa.

In a survey carried out by the Insa polling institute for the Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag, 82% of SPD voters said Schröder should be barred from the party. A total of 74% of Germans agree.

A self-styled long-time friend of Putin, the former chancellor has long been criticized for his connections to Russia, but these have grown far louder since the invasion of Ukraine last week.

The former chancellor is head of the supervisory board of the Russian state energy company Rosneft and also holds leading positions in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

A total of 75% (or 79% of SPD voters) want Schröder's pension and expenses from his time as chancellor to be scrapped if he does not give up his jobs in Russian firms.

On Thursday Olaf Scholz, the first Social Democrat chancellor since Schröder, called on him to resign from his multiple posts at Russian state-owned companies.

The Social Democrats' chapter in Heidelberg have filed paperwork for his formal ousting.

Schröder's wife, Soyeon Schröder-Kim, has criticized the party leadership for what she called a "campaign" against her husband, and threatened to lodge a complaint with the country's press council on account of a photograph of him on the front page of a regional daily with the headline "Without all Honour?"

The offending photograph was published by the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday.