Quote Originally Posted by Evil_Maniac From Mars
Schröder wasn't, IMHO, a bad leader, and I almost always support the CDU (well, CSU...same thing).
I don't think he was terrible, but rather mediocre. It seems to me that the only thing that drove him as chancellor was staying in power- something wich is probably best illustrated by how he (initially) insisted on staying chancellor after his electoral defeat in 2005.

But anyway, I only said that I was ticked off by his and others' apathy or outright sucking up to Putin. It's worth noting that recently, after Merkel received a visit from the Dalai Lama and got critizised by the Chinese government for it, Schroder entered the spotlight again and emphasized that he'd never have received him.