Scholz party mulls bids to expel German ex-leader Schroeder

BERLIN (AP) — Local officials with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party have met to consider calls to expel former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The ex-leader’s longstanding ties to the Russian energy sector and refusal to distance himself fully from President Vladimir Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine have left his political standing in tatters. An arbitration committee of the center-left Social Democrats’ branch in Hannover was considering 17 applications from party members to have the 78-year-old kicked out. No immediate decision was expected on Thursday. Expelling party members in Germany is a complicated process that frequently fails. Schroeder led Germany from 1998 to 2005.