Germany's SPD faces calls to expel Schröder over Putin birthday visit

Calls are growing within Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) to expel former chancellor Gerhard Schröder from the party over his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The SPD's Upper Palatinate district in Bavaria unanimously passed a motion calling for Schröder's expulsion at a party conference, district chairwoman Carolin Wagner said on Saturday.

The move follows Schröder's latest meeting with Putin in Moscow, where he joined the Russian leader in celebrating his 74th birthday on Wednesday.

The Kremlin released photographs showing the two smiling and clasping hands. On the same day, Russian attacks killed more than two dozen people in Ukraine.

According to Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper, the SPD's state leaders in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have also called for Schröder's expulsion.

"A former chancellor who attends the birthday parties of war criminals makes himself unacceptable not only to the SPD," said Robin Mesarosch, co-chair of the SPD in Baden-Württemberg.

"Schröder is a disgrace to the whole country," he told Tagesspiegel.

Schröder, 82, has maintained a close friendship with Putin dating back to his time as German chancellor from 1998 to 2005. The centre-left politician has faced years of criticism over his fondness for the Russian leader and his business involvement with Russian energy companies.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Schröder has met with Putin on several occasions.

Putin has been subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague since 2023 over alleged war crimes.

An earlier attempt to expel Schröder from the SPD failed in 2023.

The Bavarian co-chair, Sebastian Roloff, told Tagesspiegel it was doubtful whether a new party expulsion procedure would succeed - but he added: "If there is a chance, it should be tried."

Schröder accused of betraying SPD values

The Upper Palatinate motion, seen by dpa, calls on the SPD's national leadership "to immediately initiate fresh disciplinary proceedings against Gerhard Schröder on the basis of the newly revealed events, with the aim of expelling him from the SPD".

It specifically cites Schröder's position on the supervisory board of Russian retail chain Hyperglobus and his visit to Putin on the Russian president's birthday.

Schröder's public closeness to Putin stands "in serious contradiction to the fundamental values of social democracy" and damages the party's credibility, the motion states.

Wagner, who is also an SPD lawmaker in Germany's Bundestag, pointed to Russia's war of aggression, with its "thousands of deaths, abducted children and war crimes."

She said it was unacceptable for Germany to be doing everything possible to end the war while a former chancellor was "displaying this intimacy" with Putin.

"Nobody in the SPD Upper Palatinate understands this anymore," she said.