Former German Chancellor Being Gamed By Putin and Falling for It

There is much to be learned from our associations with people who are viewed as unsavory or criminal. The blind spots we develop can and do often lead to allegiances from which we should move away. The story of Gerhard Schr?der and Vladimir Putin is such an example of being involved in a dysfunctional and dangerous relationship, to our detriment.

This short-sighted decision-making is costly to reputation and future well-being. We just don’t know it yet or we are denying it. That won’t, unfortunately, prevent future costs.

Schr?der, the former chancellor of Germany is a friend and personal ally of the Russian leader and does business with him, while living in denial about who Putin is as a leader and human being, and the inappropriate nature of being involved with a criminal.

This was detailed in great depth in the New York Times article “The Former Chancellor Who Became Putin’s Man in Germany,” by Katrin Bennhold. Schr?der doesn’t understand that his reputation now and legacy later are being negatively-and-deeply impacted. His name is rapidly decaying the longer he remains involved with and loyal to Putin.?

Schr?der, “who is paid almost $1 million a year by Russian-controlled energy companies, has become a pariah,” Bennhold wrote. The former chancellor communicates however that he is unaffected intellectually and emotionally in the present over that designation and in addition, expresses his overconfidence in how this will affect him in the future.?

“I don’t do mea culpa,” he said. “It’s not my thing.” That commitment stubbornness, blindness as to risk and practiced recklessness and arrogance doesn’t just hurt Schr?der, it is shockingly offensive and hurtful to people who watch Putin do Putin things in his position of power as the world watches Ukraine suffer murders and other atrocities. And yet, Schr?der somehow can still say, “I don’t do mea culpa.” Social awareness, empathy and self awareness are obviously “not his thing,” either.?

Perceptions of him don’t bother him. They are solidified beliefs now in Germany. When people do little to change the perception or even show interest in it, narratives become convictions that are near impossible to improve.

“He took advantage of the reputation and influence of the chancellor’s office and offered himself up as an agent for Russian interests to get rich,” Bennhold wrote that Norbert R?ttgen, a conservative lawmaker, former minister and longtime Russia hawk, as saying.??

Schr?der doesn’t have much use for humility and shakes his head at the comments of his critics.

“They all went along with it for the last 30 years,” he said. “But suddenly everyone knows better.” He sees Putin differently than the rest of the world because he has different experiences with him, is well compensated because of the business connection and either is in denial as to the other part of Putin’s character or has rationalized the warmonger’s leadership.?

Schr?der might fear Putin too, so there is that to consider or he may be allowing his ego to deceive himself when he communicates that he must keep Putin’s trust because that’s the only person who can stop the assault on Ukraine.?

How poorly does Germany grade its former chancellor? It’s bad, Bennhold wrote.

“He relinquished his honorary citizenship in Hanover before his home city could strip it from him — something it last did, posthumously, to Adolf Hitler.”

Hitler.?

Smart move by Schr?der to fall on the sword as to not have his name forever linked in a terrible twosome with the Führer. This would seem to indicate that Schr?der’s reputation matters to him yet only when he fears it sufficiently. He doesn’t seem to fear much although he reportedly canceled a membership at the soccer club Borussia Dortmund after his longtime association with it because the club expected Schr?der would denounce Putin, which he had no plan to do. Schr?der rather decided to end a valued, healthy relationship than go against a ruler that the world finds repulsive.

“The image that people have of Putin is only half the truth,” Schr?der has countered as his defense.?

The denial and self-deception, again. And it doesn’t end there. How many other people would believe Schr?der when he says, “What I can tell you is that Putin is interested in ending the war. But that’s not so easy. There are a few points that need to be clarified.”

We don’t always test our statements of defense. Otherwise we might hear how unworthy and false they sound. Schr?der makes ending the war sound like a simple business contract with the above comment.

He doesn’t realize he is not a believable man and that by hitching his allegiance to a criminal leader judged as evil is some of the poorest self-enabling strategy possible, as well as reputation destructive.

There is a saying that goes, “The power of any lie,” and I imagine this to be from others or the ones we tell ourselves, “is equal only to our desire to believe it, specifically our need and eagerness to believe it. This is the problem with belief – which is accepting something as true or correct without proof.” People do this to themselves.

It doesn’t help that the shockingly corrupt Schr?der allows Putin to manipulate him, such as when the Russian leader publicly stated his respect and admiration for Schr?der.

“Let German citizens open their purses, have a look inside and ask themselves whether they are ready to pay three to five times more for electricity, for gas and for heating,” Mr. Putin said. “If they are not, they should thank Mr. Schr?der because this is his achievement, a result of his work.”

The Russian media has gotten into the act too, feeding Schr?der’s ego, which has to feel good to him. The state television station, Bennhold reported, claims he is “a Western voice of reason, proof of the Kremlin’s contention that Europe’s current leaders have sold their countries’ interests out to a ‘Russophobic’ United States.”

Schr?der’s belief system, rationalizations, self-deception and character deficiencies are not unusual to the self-deceived who choose self interest, especially when money, powerful friendships, ego and emotional pleasure are vices. A moral compass goes unused, rejection of corrections occurs and trust, relationship quality and reputation health are considered inconsequential. One travels so far down the road of selfishness that they don’t realize they are far removed from the capability of their humanity.?

“An arrogant person thinks they are ‘right’ and won’t listen to anyone; they will defend a wrong decision to failure,” an anonymous source once wrote.

Harvey Mackay, the noted envelope entrepreneur and author on success has communicated, “The world is full of people who were at the top of their game when they made a fatal mistake, due to poor judgment, arrogance or the inability to do the ‘right’ thing.”

Except Schr?der does possess the ability to choose differently. He struggles to see the ethics and morality questions as mandatory, improved decision-making and pursue navigating a smarter course of action. There will always be humans failing others and themselves in this manner.

Schr?der assumes his work is noble and the intelligent chess move in business and in life yet doesn’t realize he’s lost and weak in the clutches of a madman. In addition, he’s burning bridges in Germany. History will not be kind with Gerhard Schr?der’s name. And Putin, he fails to realize, is not as loyal to him as he wants to believe. Putin, in fact, is likely laughing at him.

Michael Toebe is the founder and specialist at Reputation Quality, a practice that serves and helps successful people and organizations with further building reputation as an asset or when necessary, ethically protecting, restoring or reconstructing it.