2024-04-11 14:11:43
Former Chancellor and Putin friend Gerhard Schröder is celebrating his 80th birthday on Sunday. Even in a new documentary he does not distance himself from the Russian president.
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who worked in the Russian energy industry, has once again defended Russian President Vladimir Putin in a new documentary and recognized his recent election victory as legitimate. “There are free elections in Russia, you can’t deny that,” said Schröder, among other things, in the documentary “Out of Service? The Gerhard Schröder Story”, which was published on ARD.
The federal government, however, did not congratulate Putin after the election because it was viewed as “neither free nor fair.” Many people on social media criticized Schröder’s statement. The CDU local politician Frank Helmenstein, for example, said: “Schröder is making others ashamed again.”
“Listen, we’re not making a fairy tale here.”
Schröder admitted in the documentary that there was no free opposition. However, he put things into perspective: “But there is no direct ban.” It is therefore wrong to claim that there is no democratic decision-making.
Video | Gerhard Schröder: “I would like to apologize for that”
He described the war against Ukraine as a “historical mistake” to Putin, but he didn’t ask why. When reporter Lucas Stratmann asked about this, Schröder started laughing and replied succinctly: “Listen, we’re not making a fairy tale here.” It’s not a moral question.
Schröder does not consider himself isolated in the SPD
While Schröder doesn’t criticize Putin, he doesn’t speak well to some people in the SPD. When asked whether he was isolated in the party, he replied: “That can’t be the case at all.” The fact that the Bundestag faction still wanted to cut off funding for his office was due to a few people like Secretary General Kevin Kühnert. But they are “not important” and “poor people”.
He doesn’t particularly speak well of Kühnert, also because Schröder’s photo is no longer listed among the party’s most important figures on the SPD website. “But, look, these are pathetic characters who cause something like this,” Schröder fumes: “What should you think of it? If there is a Secretary General – who should be responsible for it – who thinks this is necessary: a poor wretch. Nothing more. Should I be upset about it? No. The SPD is bigger than these people.”
Schröder also didn’t hold back in the documentary when it came to politicians from other parties. He judged Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: “I think it’s a terrible aberration that the foreign policy porcelain that is occasionally broken.” Professionalism in the Foreign Office is “rather underdeveloped,” said Schröder, referring to a statement by Baerbock. The Green politician had described Chinese President Xi Jinping as a dictator.
Schröder is celebrating his 80th birthday this weekend
Schröder did not distance himself from Putin after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To this day, the 79-year-old holds positions in the Russian energy industry. Schröder believes that Russia’s war is wrong, but he does not want to break off relations with Putin. “We have worked together sensibly for many years. Maybe that can still help to find a negotiated solution, I don’t see any other solution,” said Schröder in a recent interview with the German Press Agency.
Schröder celebrates his 80th birthday on Sunday. His celebration is scheduled to take place in Berlin at the end of the month. The Chancellor has not yet provided any information about the invited guests. Here you can read more about it.