Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was honored by the SPD for 60 years of party membership. Schröder and Hanover’s former mayor Herbert Schmalstieg, who carried out the honor, announced this after the non-public event in Hanover.
According to the SPD, around 40 guests were there, including Otto Schily, who was Federal Minister of the Interior under Schröder. Schröder appeared at the event at the SPD headquarters in Lower Saxony that morning in a visibly good mood and entered the building through the back entrance with his wife So-yeon Schröder-Kim.
The 79-year-old downplayed the significance of the controversial honor. “Everyone gets it after 25 years, after 50 years and after 60 years. All SPD members are equal. So I am an equal among equals,” he said as he entered the building. After the event, he presented himself in front of the house with the certificate, which was signed by the party leaders Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil.
Whether Schröder would be honored for his party anniversary was controversial within the SPD. His local Hanover Oststadt-Zoo association considered foregoing the honor. Hanover’s former mayor Herbert Schmalstieg then offered to accept the honor.
Especially since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the former Chancellor has been criticized – including within his own party – for his connections to Russia. Schröder is considered a close friend of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, and critics also accuse him of his years of working for Russian energy companies. Since the Russian invasion, the SPD party leadership has repeatedly distanced itself from Schröder. However, a party exclusion process initiated by 17 party branches failed.
