Schröder does not want to be erased from SPD history. Schröder has been a member of the SPD for 61 years.
The party leadership ostracized him because of his friendship with Putin. He said he would remain a Social Democrat as long as he was allowed to do so. He described the Russian attack on Ukraine as a “fatal mistake,” but nevertheless did not break away from Putin. The SPD leadership therefore excluded him, but a party expulsion procedure against him failed.