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World
Vladimir Putin's proposal for former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to mediate the Ukraine conflict has ignited a political firestorm in Germany.
On May 9, during the Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square, Russian President Vladimir Putin dropped a single sentence that has not stopped reverberating: "Of all European politicians, I personally prefer to conduct negotiations with Schroeder." The suggestion, that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder be appointed as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, was met with a one-word response from Berlin that encapsulates the German reaction: "Schnapsidee"—a term used to describe an idea born only in a state of intoxication, or a "crazy idea" that seems unworkable, according to French magazine Le Point.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat from Estonia, did not mince words, stating: "Schroeder was a high-level professional for Russian state-owned companies, so Putin's motives in choosing him are clear." Roland Thies, a CDU defense committee member in the Bundestag, told Le Figaro: "Schroeder is not only Putin's friend, but also the chief architect of Germany's dependence on Russian gas. Appointing him as a mediator is difficult to accept because he completely lacks the necessary neutrality."
Born in 1944 into a working-class family near Hanover, Gerhard Schroeder rose through Social Democratic politics to become premier of Lower Saxony before winning the chancellorship in 1998 at the head of a "Red-Green" coalition with the Greens. During seven years in power (1998-2005), he cultivated an image as a bold economic reformer, with his "Agenda 2010" welfare state overhaul standing as a testament to that era. Yet his strategic decision to tie Germany to Russian gas via the Nord Stream project remains in the historical record as a mistake that events later proved catastrophic for his country.
When Schroeder handed the chancellorship to Angela Merkel in 2005, he publicly stated what others preferred to keep hidden: "Now I will make money!" He was true to his word, rapidly transforming into a professional leveraging his Moscow connections. He joined the board of Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil giant, and became chairman of Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Baltic Sea gas pipelines to Germany.
The relationship between Schroeder and Putin goes beyond mere business interests; it is a deep personal friendship spanning two decades. They spent birthday nights and private soirees together, exchanging smiles in photos that seemed spontaneous but were also messages in themselves. The friendship reached such a level that Putin facilitated Schroeder's adoption of two Russian children in the early 2000s.
When Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, Schroeder acted true to form: he refused to "condemn his friend." Not content with silence, he traveled to Moscow with his South Korean wife, Soyeon, describing the trip as an attempt to quell the conflict. A photo posted by his wife on Instagram showed her hands clasped in prayer with Red Square in the background, sparking a storm of ridicule in Germany. Schroeder returned empty-handed, subsequently resigning from the Rosneft board, but he did not retreat a single step from his stance on the war.
Now, at 82, Schroeder carries an unofficial but deeply entrenched label in German minds: "Putin's buddy." The matter has gone beyond metaphor; figures from his own Social Democratic Party are demanding he be stripped of the lifetime privileges afforded to former chancellors—a precedent in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Inside the Social Democratic Party itself, some voices urge against rejecting the proposal without scrutiny. Adis Ahmetovic, the party's foreign affairs spokesperson in the Bundestag, called for "careful consideration with European partners" before a categorical rejection. Foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner argued it "would be unwise to reject any opportunity that could hasten the end of the war."
Analyst Jakob Ross from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) revealed the deeper dimension of the Russian proposal: "This suggestion can easily be interpreted as an attempt to stir up discord within the German political landscape, including within the SPD itself." He added: "It's a test of the political mood at a time when Germany is experiencing acute internal tensions, when Chancellor Friedrich Merz is at his weakest in the polls, and when the far-right Alternative for Germany party is recording historic numbers. Putin is pouring oil on the fire and then watching what happens."
Chancellor Merz himself chose silence, but a government spokesperson told the official press conference that if Russia "truly wants to negotiate, it knows who its interlocutors in Europe are."
