Gerhard Schröder (SPD), former Federal Chancellor. © Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Archivbild
The SPD leadership will not invite former Chancellor and party chairman Gerhard Schroeder to the national party convention in December. "We will keep it as we have now done at the celebration of the 160th anniversary of the SPD," said party chairman Saskia Esken of the German Press Agency. In contrast to other ex-party leaders, Schroeder did not receive an invitation to the anniversary ceremony last Tuesday at the party headquarters in Berlin.
Berlin - It is also a tradition at the party congresses that the former party leaders are invited. After his chancellorship, Schroeder attended several meetings of the party's highest body and even appeared as a speaker - most recently in 2017. At the next party congress from December 8 to 10 in Berlin, he must now remain outside. "I can no longer recognize Gerhard Schroeder as the former chancellor and former party chairman. I see him as a businessman who pursues his business interests," Esken said.
The now 79-year-old Schroeder was chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and party chairman from 1999 to 2004. After being voted out of office as head of government, he worked for Russian energy companies for many years and is still considered a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from whom he did not renounce even after the Russian attack on Ukraine. A few weeks after the start of the war, Schroeder even visited Putin in Moscow - ostensibly to mediate.
After the Russian invasion, the party leadership has repeatedly distanced itself clearly from Schroeder, declaring him isolated in the party. However, a party expulsion procedure initiated by 17 party branches failed. For Esken, the discussion about Schroeder is now over. "The SPD has important tasks as a party and as a leading coalition partner - we continue to develop programmatically and get involved in the work of the coalition. In this respect, we have more important things to do than talk about Gerhard Schroeder." dpa
