Overview
- Party officials confirmed on Tuesday that two formal applications to start a disciplinary procedure against former chancellor Gerhard Schröder have been filed and are being checked for procedural validity by the SPD-Unterbezirk Region Hannover.
- The new complaints follow Schröder’s early October visit to Vladimir Putin in Moscow, a trip that reignited criticism inside the SPD over his close personal ties to the Russian president.
- Shortly before that visit Schröder was appointed to the supervisory board of the Russian arm of the German supermarket chain Globus, a corporate link that has been cited by critics inside the party.
- Past efforts to sanction Schröder in 2022 and 2023 involved 17 local SPD bodies and were dismissed at the regional and federal arbitration levels, illustrating how SPD statutes set a high legal bar for expulsion.
- Next steps include the formal validity check by the Hannover underbezirk, possible hearings and appeals to party arbitration bodies, and a likely outcome range from a reprimand to expulsion with expulsion considered difficult under existing rules.