Another great German giving us advice.
The irony is, that while he was weakening Germany's position within the Middle East, NATO, and UN. While under his tenure Germany saw the worst economic times since WWII. While he threw his own people under the bus with pipeline deals to the Russians and while the Bundeswehr was regressing into something more like the Boy-scouts (social experiments, lack of funding, numerous reorganizations to the point where things were out of control, downsizing to the point where they can't uphold their NATO contract and their divisions only exist on paper......) While he sabotaged an effort in Iraq, throwing those people under the bus as well, was willing play with the security issues of allies, to destabilize the entire Middle East........ and did as little as possible in Afghanistan after he of course politically capitalized by standing on our side after 911 and talking of “Uneingeschraenkte Solidaritaet,” many in Germany to this day see him as some great fearless leader who stood against the US.
Schroeder was a master when it came to political opportunism, speeches, and sinking stooping to any level to win. In the end, he didn't serve his own country well either. He was the type of leader that signed Kyoto (A great photo opportunity), was against missile defense (at the time in 2000 that was really popularistic thinking. of course now even most Germans see it differently but they of course can't remember their own words 8 years ago)........ He pandered, and he seized political opportunities, as in 2002 during the run up for the Iraq war and German elections where he seized this war as his opportunity to turn the elections to his favor by jumping on the antiwar bandwagon.
You have to imagine this! A war that was a non-issue since the Germans neither paid for the 11 years of containment nor would be part of any invasion force and are at large a minor players in the Middle East (in the macro); he took Iraq and pushed it into the election forefront the media of course jumped all over it. He gave speeches, he gave interviews, and he talked and talked about this war. While Germany had 12.7% unemployment at one point under his reign, while crime surged, R&D budgets were falling, social services decaying, Germany's education system was loosing it's once great reputation...... he more or less managed to get reelected by beating the anti-American and antiwar drum and going against a war Germany had no stake in.
This was the basic message, and it was ingenious:
- Cater to the left, the SPD/Greens with the idea of being against war, against the US which is only going to war for oil of course. (The pacifist / anti-imperialism angle)
- Cater to the right FDP/CDU with the idea that Germany is standing up to the US and pathing its own way. That Germany is a powerful nation and self determining. (The sovereignty / national pride angle) Schroeder spoke of “Der Deutsche Weg”
Believe it or not, Schroeder actually did get traction even among those who call themselves conservatives in Germany. The German golden Chancellor knew how squeeze political capital out of the issue and since no issue was taboo, that's exactly what he did regardless of any consequences, regardless of the damage he did in the process to save his political power.
Think about this, he was a driving force behind why Turkey might be a future EU member. That was Germany's counteroffer and why Turkey didn't take our offer which they had already done but backed out of when he they support for EU membership on the table. With threats and intimidation, other EU nations were to be intimidated not to go along with the US. That went over well./sarc Germany a temporary UNSC member in 2002 want’s permanent membership, that didn't happen. US forces in Europe were realigned out of Germany mostly. Germany's influence in NATO wained. Germany's influence in the Middle East on which she is dependent for oil, is less. Did they really help the Iraqi's? Did they help their Allie the US? Did they help Middle East stability?................
In Germany some are just now, to at least a small degree, coming to grips with the reality of what he was really about.