Schröder's fellow party member considered it unlikely that the ex-chancellor would be expelled from the SPD

Spiegel magazine reported that the SPD branch in the Upper Palatinate unanimously approved a proposal to expel Gerhard Schröder from the party.

Local Social Democrats called on the party's federal leadership to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Schröder.

BERLIN, Oct 11 - RIA Novosti. The procedure for expelling former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from the ranks of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is unlikely to be successful, a fellow party member of the former Chancellor, Jochen Ott, is sure.

Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday that the SPD branch in the Bavarian administrative district of the Upper Palatinate unanimously approved a proposal to expel former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from the party at its congress. Local Social Democrats called on the party's federal leadership to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Schröder.

"The threshold for expulsion from the party is very high. So now I doubt that the procedure for expelling Gerhard Schröder has a chance of success," Ott told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper.