Now things are really getting serious for former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The SPD sub-district Region Hannover is currently negotiating a possible party expulsion of Schröder in a first meeting. The party had received 17 corresponding motions that Schröder wanted to throw out of the party because of his attitude to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A decision by the arbitration commission today is considered unlikely. The chances of being expelled from the party are also considered to be low within the SPD for legal reasons.
According to reports, Schröder does not appear to be taking the process very seriously, and he certainly does not want to appear personally. In numerous interviews he had previously emphasized that he had always considered himself a social democrat and that this would remain the case in the future. Schröder refused to leave the party voluntarily, as suggested by numerous comrades.
In general, party exclusion procedures for the SPD are complicated, but not that unusual. This is shown by our examples from the past.