Parties of the far-left and far-right in Germany are criticizing the decision to afford former Chancellor Olaf Scholz his own office with a staff of eight — on top of his regular office as a member of the Bundestag.

Stephan Brandner, parliamentary whip for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), said he could understand former chancellors receiving a staff of three as well as a driver. "But what eight employees are supposed to do for an ex-chancellor who has not completed a full term of office remains completely unclear and is nothing more than a waste of tax money," he told Die Welt newspaper.

Christian Görke of the socialist Left Party took a similar line, arguing that the entire idea of giving former chancellors offices to work from should be scrapped, "They don't need their own court for life," he said. "The offices must be dissolved."

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Former German chancellors and presidents are........

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