Until last November, Steiner was German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's senior foreign policy adviser, but he stepped down after a much-publicised incident in which he allegedly insulted a German army officer during a return flight from Moscow.
Do prošlog novembra Stajner je bio savetnik nemačkog kancelara Gerharda Šredera za spoljnu politiku, ali je napustio to mesto nakon incidenta koji je dobio veliki publicitet, a u kojem je on navodno uvredio oficira Nemačke vojske tokom leta na povratku iz Moskve.