Gerhard Schröder, former German chancellor, now chairman of the board of directors of Rosneft, Nord Stream and candidate for the board of directors of Gazprom, is in Serbia again.
This time he came with the owner of the Stadler Company, which sold high-speed trains to Serbia. Before arriving in Kragujevac for business talks with the mayor and representatives of the MIND group, Schröder took the Swiss train accompanied by President Vucic and several members of the government.
Schröder travelled to Kragujevac with his friend and owner of the Stadler Company, Peter Spuhler, to discuss investment possibilities with local authorities.
“During Vučić’s reign, the Western Balkans became a place of stability and significant economic development and investment, which is why I am happy to be here,” said the German politician.
When Schröder came to Serbia last time, in 2017, Vucic said that „it is a great honour that Chancellor Schroeder is with us today.“
However, in the year 2000, Vucic had a totally different opinion of Schröder. He said: “I am confident that criminals like Bill Clinton, Gerhard Schröder, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair, will soon be held accountable, in a new Nuremberg-like trial, for all the crimes they committed against the Serbian people“.
This change in rhetoric – “from a criminal to a friend” – is not surprising to journalist Bosko Jaksic: “We are talking about politics and interests here, and morality has no place in politics and big business. Serbia has many other channels for receiving political support from Germany and the EU. And if not for politics, at least for business. The question is how much Schröder ‘s lucrative character contributes to Serbian business since the benefits have not been visible so far.“
(Nova, 17.02.2022)
Photo credits: Julian Stratenschulte / dpa / AFP
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