Schröder does not want to be erased from SPD history. Schröder has been friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he was chancellor from 1998 to 2005.
He continues to work for the majority Russian companies on the Nord Stream pipelines through the Baltic Sea. Although he described the Russian attack on Ukraine as a “fatal mistake,” he nevertheless did not break away from Putin. The SPD leadership therefore excluded him, but a party expulsion procedure against him failed. He said he would remain a Social Democrat as long as he was allowed to do so.