German football club Borussia Dortmund stripped former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of his honorary membership on Wednesday. The message may seem anecdotal, but it is indicative of the problem it poses to Germany. Gerhard Schroeder, once a champion of the Social Democrats, is now a political party in his own country. A week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the former head of the German government still refuses to condemn the war between the Kremlin and his friend Vladimir Putin.
Above all, and unlike former French Minister Francois Fillon, who eventually resigned from the boards of directors of Russian companies, Schroeder retained his comfortable fees for attending the boards of directors of major Russian companies such as Rosneft or TNK. -BP. Next June, he is even due to be appointed to the supervisory board of the Gazprom gas group. The link between Angela Merkel’s predecessor and the Kremlin chief is strong. For the record, Vladimir Vladimirovich helped his boyfriend and fourth wife in 2004 and 2006 adopt two Russian children in St. Petersburg, his hometown and that of the two bosses of Rosneft and Gazprom.
The former chancellor has posted a single message on his LinkedIn account since the beginning of the conflict. “The war and the resulting suffering for the Ukrainian people must end as soon as possible. This is the responsibility of the Russian government, “the former chancellor said. The PSD’s trustee also immediately opposed the sanctions regime against Moscow. “As for the future, we must ensure that the necessary sanctions do not completely break the political, economic and civic ties that still exist between Europe and Russia,” he said. “Because these are – despite the current dramatic situation – the basis of the hope we all have: that dialogue for peace and security will once again be possible on our continent,” the former leader said.
“Feeling ashamed”
Following this press release, he only decided to resign as deputy chairman of the supervisory board of the tunneling company Herrenknecht AG, which he has held since 2016, because of his position against Putin. This lack of reaction is perceived very badly beyond the Rhine, where public opinion has taken up the cause of Ukraine. “It simply came to our notice then. Both the general public and the political class criticize him. It remains a symbol. The Germans have been embarrassed for some time by his closeness to Putin. His silence and lack of reaction contribute to the feeling of shame, “said Jana Herman, former editor-in-chief of the German magazine Vocable.
The Schröder case is clearly annoying within the PSD, its historic party. Some condemned the former chancellor’s attitude and called on him to relinquish his duties in the kings’ state. “We have asked Gerhard Schröder to resign because he is damaging Germany’s reputation,” said PSD chief Saskia Axen. But Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself is not clearly distancing himself from his clumsy mentor. The latter “speaks only for himself, not for the government,” he said.
“He is completely out of step with the current government and the new generation that came to power,” said Jana Herman. Olaf Scholz cannot openly criticize anyone from his own camp. Behind the scenes is different. According to her: “Schroeder defends values that the Germans no longer adhere to. »