Unlike Ikea, H&M and the Nijmegen Four Days Marches, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder did not yet draw any conclusions from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gerhard Schröder is a member of the supervisory board of the Russian oil group Rosneft and holds board positions at Nord Stream 1 and 2. At the beginning of February, gas company Gazprom also published the news that the former chancellor will be nominated as director of that company in the summer. Until now, Schröder has held on to all those positions, roles that he acquired thanks to his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Shortly after his resignation as chancellor in 2005, Schröder (77) took up various positions at Russian energy companies and represented Russian interests in Europe. In 2014, in the weeks of the Russian invasion of Crimea, Schröder celebrated his birthday in Saint Petersburg in the presence of Putin. At the beginning of February of this year, Schröder accused the Ukraine of “clattering weapons”.
Also read: Chancellor Scholz asks Schröder to resign from his positions
Schröder’s sideline activities are not only damaging to Schröder’s political legacy and reputation. Schröder’s ties to Russia are reflecting on the ruling party SPD, and his lobbying efforts have left their mark. For example, it is hard to imagine that without the work of Schröder, which was well paid by Moscow, Nord Stream 2 would have been created; Nord Stream 1 was decided during Schröder’s reign. At the beginning of 2021, a foundation was established in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the state where the gas pipeline comes ashore, with the aim of completing the gas pipeline and also protecting the environment in the state; Nord Stream 2 nv donated 20 million euros for this. Investigative journalists from, among others, weekly newspaper of the mirror pointed out that this construction was probably conceived in Moscow, and that it came about through Schröder and the Social Democratic Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig.
Still office in Bundestag
On Thursday evening in a talk show, Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on his predecessor Schröder to resign from his positions. Four Schröder employees, including his speechwriter who worked for him for more than twenty years, resigned early this week. The financing of Schröder’s office is also being re-examined. As a former chancellor, he is entitled to an office plus employees in the Bundestag; in 2021 this cost more than 400,000 euros in tax money.
It is my firm belief that we cannot put Gerd on the same page as Hitler
Ex-wife of Schröder
Until this week, Schröder was part of the hall of fame of 34 ‘great social democrats’ on the SPD’s website. Schröder’s portrait was taken out this week; now there are still 33 major social democrats. There is also distance elsewhere. In the branch at the Berlin airport of the famous political restaurant Ständige Vertre-tung, the image of Schröder was removed from the bar this week. The football club Borussia Dortmund stripped Schröder of his honorary membership this week.
The city of Hanover also wanted to strip Schröder of honorary citizenship this week. Schröder’s ex-wife, Doris Schröder-Köpf, who is active in state politics, opposed this decision. In a response, she writes: “It is my firm belief that we cannot put Gerd on the same page as Hitler.” Schröder’s current wife, Soyeon Schröder-Kim, also defends her husband, especially on her Instagram account, where you can also find many photos of Gerd in various metropolitan restaurants. Schröder-Kim threatened on Instagram with steps against the newspaper Hanoverian Allgemeinebecause next to a photo of Gerhard Schröder the headline was: ‘Without an ounce of dignity?’