Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was sent to a clinic Tuesday with symptoms of burnout — allowing him to dodge a hearing into Russian influence in Germany.
The 80-year-old Schröder — who has faced vehement criticism for his links to Moscow — was due to testify before an inquiry in the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern into construction of the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
At the end of January, Schröder also avoided a hearing before the investigative committee of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliament due to illness.
According to his doctor’s statement, sent to the dpa news agency Tuesday, Schröder is suffering from severe exhaustion, lack of energy, concentration and memory problems, and he’s also been diagnosed with sleep disorders and reduced emotional resilience.
Although his hearing has been rescheduled for March, his doctor’s statement said that Schröder is “neither currently nor in the foreseeable future able to cope with the physical and psychological stress of a prolonged — especially public — questioning by an investigative committee,” as such a hearing could further cause his health to deteriorate.
Schröder, a Social Democrat who governed Germany in coalition with the Greens from 1998 to 2005, is well known for his ties to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s regime, having served as a board member of Russian state energy companies after his tenure as chancellor.
As chancellor, Schröder promoted Nord Stream 1, and as chairman of the board of Nord Stream 2 AG — a direct subsidiary of the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom — he promoted the construction of the new pipeline.
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