A friend of Putin: Former German chancellor’s staff quit
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has reportedly watched all the staff in his taxpayer-funded office walk away, while he resists growing pressure to cut his ties to the Kremlin.
It comes amid the Kremlin-backed invasion of Ukraine, which has seen Schroeder – a long-time friend of Putin – fall under scrutiny.
Leaders of Germany’s Social Democrats party (SPD), alongside other European politicians such as France’s former prime minister Francois Fillon, have urged the former chancellor to give up his Russian posts, Reuters first reported.
Staffer Albrecht Funk told the news agency that he, two secretaries and a driver had asked to be reassigned to other jobs in the chancellery, out of Schroeder’s office.
Schroeder has also been criticised for being ‘soft’ on Russia and Ukraine’s turbulent relations.
An increasing number of friends of the dictator have begun to face consequences for their distance to the Kremlin, following its invasion of Ukraine.
Famed conductor Valery Gergiev, who is also close friends with Putin, was fired from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra for not condemning Ukraine’s invasion.
Gergiev, a vocal supporter of Putin, has been a personal friend since the 1990s.