SPD politician ill: former Chancellor Schröder goes into clinic with burnout

The finding of the treating doctor reads alarming: “Mr. S. suffers from a severe burnout syndrome with the typical signs of profound exhaustion and a strong lack of energy.” In addition, “difficulties of concentration and memory as well as sleep disorders”. The doctor also states a “reduced emotional resilience” in his statement on the state of health of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, which is available to the German Press Agency.

It is so bad about the SPD politician that he went into clinical treatment on the advice of the doctor. This was confirmed by Schröder’s lawyer Hans-Peter Huber of the dpa. He asked the public on behalf of the family to respect Schröder’s privacy.

Burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that arises from chronic stress. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized Burnout as a health problem.

Schröder no longer looked as agile as before

Schröder’s companions had been worried about the otherwise powerful and boyish SPD politician. He seemed stressed during encounters and not as agile as around his 80th birthday in April 2024. At that time he gave the dpa a detailed interview and had an NDR camera team accompanied on a trip to China and the golf course. The film provided the well -known picture of the “media chancellor”. So from someone who wanted to draw his picture himself and did not want to have others determined by others.

Last but not least, Schröder’s fifth wife Soyeon Schröder-Kim ensured this. The 55 -year -old South Korean management consultant has repeatedly staged the former chancellor in private moments on the social network Instagram since his marriage. However, there has been a break there since January 5.

A lot of criticism of the former chancellor about the proximity to Russia

Bitter years are behind Gerhard Schröder. His rapid change to well -endowed supervisory board posts of Russian companies after leaving the Chancellery in 2005 brought him violent criticism. When Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, whom Schröder calls his friend, ordered his troops to attack Ukraine in February 2022, the former Chancellor hesitated to distance himself from him. He even made an unsuccessful peace mission in Moscow a few weeks after the outbreak of war.

In political Germany, he largely isolated himself with his attitude towards Putin. The Bundestag stroked his former Chancellor’s office. However, an SPD party exclusion process failed. Today’s SPD general secretary Matthias Miersch was even back in Hanover at Schröder’s birthday party last April.

Around this 80th birthday, Schröder was more public again. However, his illness-related cancellation recently caused a sensation for an appearance in the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In mid-January, Schröder was to be heard in front of the committee of inquiry, which examines the construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2. In particular, the political and financial influence of Russia on the actions of the SPD-led state governments are interested in parliamentarians.

Statement in the U-Committee moves far away

The question arises as to what role Schröder played. He had promoted Nord Stream 1 as a chancellor, the construction of the other pipeline in 2006 as chairman of the board of directors of Nord Stream 2 AG, a 100 % daughter of the Russian Gazprom.

For the time being, nothing should be out of Schröder’s testimony in Schwerin. He has “grown the physical and psychological stress by a longer – in particular public – survey in an investigation committee,” wrote his treating doctor in his opinion. And warns: “This would further deteriorate its state of health and, in the worst case, lead to total decompensation.” So a state in which even the best doctors would be difficult for the former chancellor.