Will Schröder be expelled from the SPD?

Gerhard Schroeder’s friendly relationship with Vladimir Putin angers many in the SPD. Today, the party process for the possible removal of the former chancellor began.

It was the third and … sickening time for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the former SPD chancellor with the question of his removal. The two previous dates, in June, had been canceled due to illness. But on Thursday, the local SPD organization for the Hanover region, where the former chancellor lives and works, held a regular meeting to consider a total of 17 demands submitted by other local party organizations. They are calling for the dismissal of the now 78-year-old Gerhard Schroeder. Neither Schröder himself nor his lawyer attended the meeting, which, however, does not prevent the proceeding from continuing.

The head of the local SPD organization in Hanover, Christoph Matherne, tells Deutsche Welle that he does not expect a decision within the week. In theory the relevant disciplinary committee has three full weeks at their disposal, while the German News Agency (DPA) considers a verdict possible in early August. Schröder was chancellor in the period 1998-2005, to be succeeded by Angela Merkel, while he had been the chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 1999 to 2004. He had traditionally had “difficult” relations with the party apparatus, while for a long time he has been in target of criticism. Not only because – already from the time of his omnipotence – he maintains a friendly relationship with Vladimir Putin, but also because he is active as a lobbyist for Russian companies in the energy sector.

“Significant damage” to the party?

But is it that easy to be deleted from a political party? What is certain is that something like this cannot be done by a simple decision of the leader. Political parties in Germany do not have a personal character and this is enshrined in the Constitution, which provides that their “internal functioning” should correspond to the “fundamental principles of the Republic”. Further details are set out in the “Political Parties Act” passed in 1967, which provides that a party member can only be expelled if he “acts maliciously in violation of the party’s constitution” or “affects in a particularly heinous manner the fundamental principles of the party”. and provided that such conduct “results in substantial injury” to the party. For behaviors that do not fall within these criteria, a “reprimand” may be sufficient.

Of course, no political party is obliged to accept everyone as its members. But once he accepts someone, he cannot so easily dismiss him. However, the 17 local organizations that filed the request to delete Gerhard Schröder are not backing down. “It will be a painful process, but we will persevere,” Ali Kaan Sevids, head of the local organization in Essen-Frodhausen-Allendorf, tells Deutsche Welle. He was one of the first to call for Schroeder’s deletion and to this day he remembers that the overwhelming majority of SPD members in the region supported the request at a rate of 95%, while the reactions via e-mail or Facebook messages were particularly encouraging.

Reservations from constitutionalists

However, many experts express misgivings about the “Schröder case”. As Martin Morlock, emeritus professor of public law and expert on political party law, tells Deutsche Welle, “It is problematic to raise a question of party discipline for behavior that has nothing to do with the functioning of the party in the strict sense.” Furthermore, says Professor Morlock, “membership in a political party cannot limit freedom of opinion, nor freedom of profession and the right to work”.

And if the specific professional activity does not correspond to the prevailing perception within the party? “A political party is not a monastic order,” Martin Morlock makes clear. “One’s professional activity cannot be judged through party glasses”. This does not mean that the German constitutionalist rejects party discipline and the last resort of deletion from the outset. He points out, however, that deletion is considered legitimate only as a “necessary means to ensure the smooth functioning of the party”, for example “in the event that someone usurps the responsibilities of others or refuses to recognize the result of an internal party vote”.

“Relax,” continues Gerhard Schroeder

The former chancellor himself says he is “calmly” awaiting the outcome of the disciplinary process. “I am and will remain a social democrat” he declares to the magazine DER SPIEGEL. Shortly before he had announced that he would leave the supervisory board of the Russian energy giant Rosneft, while he did not wish to run for the supervisory board of Gazprom.

Christoph Strack

Edited by: Yiannis Papadimitriou

Source: Deutsche Welle