industry reached new heights this week when the former chancellor was nominated for a position as an independent director on the board of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company — and one in which the Kremlin also holds a controlling stake. The nomination had been rumored for days and was confirmed by a government decree published late on Friday night.

Rosneft is not just any energy company; it represents the interests of the Kremlin and is run by one of Putin's former KGB colleagues. Schröder's attempts to rationalize his collusion by insisting that he is simply helping with Germany's energy security is at best cynical:

Schröder's old Social Democrat (SPD) political pals have been reluctant to openly criticize their former leader for his crass opportunism. After all, Gerhard Schröder is aFront National? A patron who uses its meager reserves to deploy his army of trolls and bots for the brown cause, who uses his shrill media empire to spread conspiracy theories and "alternative facts" across the globe, who initiates hacks and leaks to undermine the democratic process like there is now tomorrow. A patron who spares no expense when it serves the enemies of democracy, who shamelessly makes his enormous resources available to any right-wing street urchin.")

Schröder became chancellor with his clever use of anti-American rhetoric. Today he is applauded across Germany for his especially harsh words for President Trump - conveniently forgetting that it was his pal Vladimir Putin who was instrumental in getting Trump elected.