Germany: Schroeder will not be invited to the SPD congress
The leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Germany will not invite former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to the work of the next federal congress between 8 and 10 December. “We will stick to the line followed for the celebrations of the 160th anniversary of the SPD,” said party leader Saskia Esken speaking to the dpa.
Unlike other former party leaders, Schroeder was not invited to the anniversary ceremony at the SPD headquarters in Berlin on Tuesday. It is also a tradition that former leaders are invited to SPD congresses. “I no longer recognize Gerhard Schröder as the former chancellor and former party leader. I see him as an entrepreneur pursuing his economic interests,” Esken added.
Chancellor between 1998 and 2005 and leader of the Social Democratic Party from 1999 to 2004, Schroeder, at the end of his mandate at the helm of the government, worked for several years with Russian energy giants and is considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the party leadership repeatedly distanced itself from the former chancellor, against whom expulsion proceedings were also initiated, which ended in stalemate. For Esken, the discussion on Schroeder is now closed: «The SPD has important tasks as a party and as a coalition partner. From this point of view, we have more important things to do than talk about Gerhard Schroeder».