Thread by @bansisharma

1. How Compromised Is German Leadership?

Since liberals admire German leadership, especially when Germany is at logger heads with America when a Republican is in the White House, let us see how Germany behaves when a Democrat is in the White House. Turns out just as badly.

2. German dependence on Russian oil and gas is not some freak accident or a casual oversight. No, it has deep roots.

Meet Herr Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder, Angela Merkel's predecessor. Gerhard Schröder served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005.

3. Mr. Schröder, a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin, is a familiar face on the boards of some prominent Russian companies, including Rosneft, the Russian oil giant.

4. Mr. Schröder is chairman of the shareholders committee of Nord Stream 2, the company that owns the new Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline that Berlin said this week it would stop, or more accurately, it would consider delaying the decision on whether or not to start.

5. Mr. Schröder has also been invited to sit on the board of Gazprom, the Russian gas behemoth that is the parent company of Nord Stream 2.

Mr. Schröder, 77 on Thursday called for an end to the war, writing in a post on his LinkedIn account.

6. But in contrast to the harsh rebukes of Russia’s attack from some leaders, Mr. Schröder stressed the “𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒂,” 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 “𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 — 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔.”

7. Mr. Schröder said that “Russia’s security interests do not justify the use of military means,” but cautioned European leaders against taking actions that “cut the remaining political, economic and civil society ties that exist between Europe and Russia.”

8. Still there are hopeful signs. As images of Ukrainians fleeing the capital Kyiv ran all day on German screens Thursday, calls for Mr. Schröder to sever his ties with Russia intensified.

9. “This blatant purchase of a German ex-head of government by Putin can hardly be surpassed in terms of ignominy,” Christian Bangel wrote in an editorial in the German weekly, Die Zeit. “It damages not only Schröder himself, but also the office of chancellor.”

The End