Shunned ex-German chancellor welcome in party again – new leader

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder remains a valued member of the country’s ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) despite narrowly avoiding expulsion over his refusal to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin, the SPD’s new general secretary has said.

Asked by Germany’s Stern magazine whether there was room for Schroeder in the senior ranks of the SPD, incoming General Secretary Matthias Miersch replied “Yes. Otherwise Gerhard Schroeder would have had to be expelled from the party.”

Miersch, who was named as the party’s new leader earlier this month, told Stern on Monday that he can appreciate Schroeder’s “life’s work as a whole… even if I have a fundamentally different view on Putin and the attack on Ukraine.”

Miersch listed Schoeder’s refusal to take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, his endorsement of same-sex partnerships, and his funding of schools as some of the former chancellor’s crowning achievements.

“We never did politics together, but like many others, I was able to build on his work,” Miersch added.

The SPD leader’s comments were seen in Germany as an olive branch to Schroeder, who fell out of favor with party elites after the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. A close friend of Putin, Schroeder refused to denounce the Russian president, and has met with him twice since February 2022.

He accused the US of sabotaging a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, condemned Western nations for supplying Ukraine with weapons, and insisted that he would keep seeking “opportunities to talk to President Putin.”

Schroeder was stripped of his parliamentary privileges in 2022, and survived multiple attempts to expel him from the SPD. A party arbitration committee in Hanover ruled last April that the former chancellor had violated no party rules, and thus could not be expelled.

Miersch’s comments were echoed by other senior party members, with MP Ralf Stegner telling Stern that “you don’t have to share all of the views to have respect for those who previously bore responsibility for our SPD.”

Schroeder served as chancellor from 1998 to 2005, during which he signed off on the construction of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Germany’s economy flourished during his tenure, with the country’s industry fueled by cheap Russian gas. After leaving office, Schroeder worked as a director of the German-Russian consortium responsible for both Nord Stream pipelines. He also served as a director on the board of Russian oil giant Rosneft, a position that he resigned from in May 2022.

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