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"Mr. Chancellor..."
Gerhard Schröder, former chancellor: “Here’s to you, the Berlin beer!”
Close to the people, down-to-earth, never at a loss for a saying: Gerhard Schröder's political career is characterized by strange appearances - like this legendary autograph session:
Gerhard Schröder, former chancellor: "Say, get me a bottle of beer, otherwise I'll go on strike here and stop writing."
Entertainer Stefan Raab turns this sentence into a song that all of Germany knows. Schröder doesn't take offense at this, on the contrary:
Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor: “We want to drink this beer on Stefan Raab.”
The presentation as a man of the people from a humble background appeals to many: like here as the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony in a telephone conversation with a reader of the Bild newspaper.
Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor: “I promise you one thing: you give me the address now and if I stop washing myself, then of course I will become your customer. I will contact the employment office. Clementine's laundry service, where? Okay, goodbye all the best! Your name is actually Clementine, isn’t it?”
»No, my name is Michaela.«
»So Mrs. Michaela, all the best, bye-bye!«
In 1998 he became chancellor - after 16 years of the CDU under Helmut Kohl, his red-green government in tandem with Joschka Fischer promised change for Germany. Schröder as a carer and helper: He visits towns flooded by floods, sends German soldiers to Kosovo and speaks to the employees of the recently rescued Holzmann Group.
Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor: »We will do better... you will manage it, I am quite sure. With that in mind: have a nice evening and greet your families.«
But not only did the Holzmann Group go bankrupt a short time later. Some of his reforms are still controversial today; his Agenda 2010, the new regulation of the labor market, has been particularly criticized.
“We are the people, get rid of Hartz IV!”
The Iraq War took place during his second term in office: Schröder took a stand and resisted pressure from the Americans to take part in the invasion.
Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor: “We tried to prevent war until the last minute. I'm sure there would have been another way to disarm the dictator, the United Nations way."
Then in 2005 there were early elections, again his usual winning pose - but despite a race to catch up, he narrowly lost to CDU candidate Angela Merkel in the end.
But Schröder took precautions: Through Vladimir Putin, a frequent guest in Berlin at the time, Schröder became a lobbyist for Russian energy companies, first for Gazprom and later for Nord Stream AG. Although this is lucrative for the former chancellor, it brings him enormous criticism, not only from the SPD.
He can avert a party expulsion process in 2023 - and he is trying to make a big impression once again: but the idea that his proximity to the Kremlin could ensure peace in Ukraine remains a futile pose. And the regular photos together that his fifth wife Soyeon Schröder-Kim publishes on social media regularly cause ridicule online.
Gerhard Schröder turns 80 on Sunday.