Gerhard Schroeder, who was German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005, had a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than two decades. Now the news portal Politico and German mass circulation Picture The newspaper reports that he traveled to Moscow and met with the Russian president on Thursday afternoon.
According to the German Press Agency, the trip was not coordinated with the German government, led by Schroeder’s party, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). SPD co-chair Lars Klingbaile said he had not received any information about such a trip, but said in his view any attempt to end the war was good.
Just a few days ago, Soyeon Schröder-Kim, the current wife of former Chancellor Schröder, wrote on Instagram: “Rest assured that whatever my husband can do to end the war, he will.”
On Thursday night, Schröder-Kim posted a photo of her praying next to a window overlooking St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
Schroeder’s surprise trip is another turning point in the recent tragic story surrounding the former chancellor.
Russia has been at war with Ukraine for 14 days. Two weeks in which Social Democrat Schroeder refused to distance himself from Putin and relinquish his lucrative position on Russia’s supervisory board in the gas industry.
Since the war began, the former chancellor has spoken in public only once. Two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Schroeder went to LinkedIn to call on Russia to end the war as soon as possible. However, the 77-year-old avoided holding Putin responsible. Instead, he wrote about “many mistakes” that had been made “on both sides.”
Schroeder makes a lot of money in Russia
Schroeder opposes the idea of harsh sanctions and urged that the “remaining political, economic and civil society ties between Europe and Russia” not be completely severed. He had already rejected the sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, which, however, he had described as illegal under international law in an interview in 2021.
Gerhard Schröder has never hidden that he makes good money in Russia. Immediately after losing the 2005 federal election to center-right candidate Angela Merkel, she switched from politics to the Russian gas company. Sea. Schroeder was the mastermind of the Nord Stream project with Putin while he was still chancellor. He later became chairman of the supervisory board of Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosneft and chairman of the shareholder committee of Nord Stream AG, which built and owns the two parallel gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Is Putin instrumentalizing Schroeder?
About three weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gerhard Schroeder was also nominated for the supervisory board of Russian energy giant Gazprom. Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU), chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has questioned the Kremlin’s calculations behind Schröder’s appointment. He said “it should be seen as a move by Russia to divide the German government in its stance on the suspension of Nord Stream 2 as a possible tool of sanctions and therefore to discredit Germany as a whole.”
Critics saw it as a special way to say thank you for the prospect of another lucrative position on the supervisory board when Schroeder accused Ukraine of being a “sword.”
In mid-February, when German Chancellor Olaf Soltz was in Moscow for talks with Putin, the Russian president praised Schroeder as a “decent man” whose candidacy for Gazprom’s supervisory board he backed. The work of such an “independent expert” would only benefit co-operation with Germany, he said.
Putin, the “perfect democrat”
Schroeder and Putin – this friendship has lasted for more than two decades. It developed when Schroeder was still chancellor and deepened despite growing criticism of Putin’s expansionist policies over the years.
In 2012, when Putin was re-elected president and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) identified significant irregularities in the election, the former chancellor defended his friend as a “perfect democrat”. Two years later, Gerhard Schroeder celebrated his 70th birthday with Putin in Moscow.
There are many in the SPD who have been skeptical of the friendship between Schroeder and Putin for years. A skepticism that has given way to growing horror in recent weeks. Many of his old comrades tried to influence the former chancellor.
Chancellor Olaf Solz (SPD) called on Schroeder to resign from all Russian companies.
SPD co-chair Lars Klingbail is under particular pressure. He once started his political career as a clerk in the Schroeder constituency in Hanover, and a personal friendship emerged from this collaboration. But after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Klingbeil wrote in a social media post: “You do not work with an attacker, a warlord like Putin. As a retired German chancellor, you never act completely privately. Especially not in a situation. like today “.
In early March, Klingbeil and SPD co-chair Saskia Esken, along with eight former SPD leaders, wrote a clear letter. “Act and say clear words,” wrote the comrades, who eventually called on Schroeder to make a public statement “strongly opposed to President Putin’s hostilities.”
The letter went on to say: “Many people are looking at you. And you are deciding for yourself these days, dear Gerhard, whether you want to remain a respected Social Democrat in the future.”
There was no response from Gerhard Schroeder.
More and more SPD executives have been calling for the party to be ousted for days, and some local funds have already submitted proposals to that effect.
Many of Schröder’s German business partners have already parted ways. Companies for which the former chancellor had worked as a consultant for years and in the supervisory boards or executive committees of which Schroeder participated for years.
Few give a reason. Berlin’s developer, Gröner, on the other hand, is an exception: “are in the process of further co-operation with Mr Schröder,” the company said in a press release.
The University of Gκέttingen is considering revoking Schroeder’s honorary doctorate. The German Football Association wants to revoke the honorary status of the former chancellor, who is a fan of football, and the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund has already done so.
Can Schroeder mediate for Ukraine?
Whether Schroeder can really influence Putin is difficult to assess. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, nominated Schröder as mediator.
“He is one of the few here in Germany who can still have a direct line with Putin. There is no one in Germany and other European countries who has such a thing,” Melnik told the crowd. Picture newspaper.
He knew nothing about the former chancellor’s actual travel plans, Melnik said on Thursday. “I have a hard time imagining that my government asked Schroeder to do that.”
This article has been translated from German.
While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors bring together what’s going on in German politics and society. You can sign up for the Berlin Briefing weekly newsletter here.
Add Comment