Merz condemns Schroeder over Putin birthday celebration

Friedrich Merz condemns Gerhard Schroeder's visit to Vladimir Putin's birthday celebration, his spokesperson said on October 9.

The German chancellor was "deeply outraged" by his predecessor's attendance at the gathering at Putin's residence, the government spokesperson said. The criticism follows an earlier disagreement over whether Schroeder should have a role in discussions about Europe's security.

Schroeder's visit also drew objections from his own party, putting the conservative chancellor and a senior Social Democratic coalition partner on the same side of the dispute. Lars Klingbeil, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-leader and German finance minister, reportedly described the attendance as "completely unacceptable", citing the suffering of Ukrainians.

Berlin rejects celebration with Putin

The government spokesperson attributed responsibility for the Ukraine war to Putin and said his military orders had brought civilian deaths, injuries and the separation of families. The spokesperson characterized Schroeder's participation in the birthday event as immoral, explicitly linking Merz's objection to the war's human cost.

Schroeder and his wife, So-Yeon Schroeder-Kim, had not immediately answered requests for comment. She sometimes manages communications on his behalf; no explanation from either of them for attending the gathering was included in the supplied account.

The dispute centers on relationships that have continued through Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the Western sanctions that followed. Schroeder has faced objections both domestically and internationally over his connections to Putin and Russian commercial interests.

Russian business roles span sectors

Schroeder led Germany between 1998 and 2005, before taking positions at Russian businesses during the following two decades. His post-government career has included roles in energy infrastructure and oil, with a retail appointment added shortly before the birthday visit.

After leaving the chancellorship, Schroeder took the chairmanship of the shareholders' committee at Nord Stream. The Baltic Sea gas pipeline venture, led by Gazprom, was a project he had supported as Germany's leader.

He subsequently occupied senior roles at Rosneft, the Russian oil company. Last week, he also took a supervisory board seat at Hyperglobus, a Russian retailer spun off from Germany's Globus Holding that operates over 20 supermarkets in Russia.

Europe rebuffs Schroeder negotiating role

Putin said earlier this year that Schroeder was his preferred intermediary for negotiations about a revised European security framework. Both the EU and Merz's administration rejected that proposal immediately, establishing their opposition to such a role before this week's gathering.

That earlier rejection separates Putin's stated preference from Berlin's position on who should participate in security discussions. The birthday visit now adds a personal encounter to an already disputed combination of business relationships and proposed diplomatic involvement.

The immediate unresolved issue is how Schroeder explains his attendance and responds to criticism from the government and his party. Any renewed proposal for him to act as an intermediary would also face the objections already expressed by Berlin and the EU.