Schroeder, 79, took part on Tuesday evening with his wife in a reception organized in Berlin at the headquarters of the Russian diplomatic mission, on the occasion of the anniversary of the victory of the Red Army over Nazi Germany.
The former adviser, who is mainly blamed for his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, appeared smiling in a photo published by popular newspaper Bild.
Members of the far-right Alternative for Germany and the far-left party Die Linke, as well as one of the last leaders of the GDR, Egon Krenz, took part in the ceremony.
On the other hand, no representative of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party, the ecologists and the Liberal Party took part in the ceremony.
Schroeder, who is associated with several Russian energy groups, was denied benefits granted to former advisers because of his relationship with Putin, which he maintained despite the military attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
internal reactions
• Katja Mast, a leader of the Social Democratic Party faction in parliament, commented saying, “I don’t understand.”
• Christian Dor, leader of the Liberal Party bloc in the House of Representatives, said: “It is totally inappropriate to attend a party hosted by the Russian Embassy, and I think it is appropriate that the ambassadors of the Western countries have sent a clear signal” not to participate.
• Torsten Frey of the Christian Democratic Union said: “The day Russian diplomats served a meal to the former chancellor, innocent people were killed in Ukraine because of the Russian war of aggression”, considering that “May 9 is meant to be a reminder not to collude with abusers.”
• A spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was Schroeder’s political mentor at the turn of the millennium, declined to comment.
• Tino Shrubala, co-chairman of the Alternative for Germany party, justified his party’s participation in the ceremony, explaining that May 9 was until last year a memory to which “German politicians of all parties represented in Parliament naturally participate”, adding: “This dialogue must not be interrupted in times of crisis.”
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