Gerhard Schröder…
Don’t underestimate this fellow…
In US Action Plan on Geopolitics, I pointed out that diplomatic forays by various players within NATO represent a strength of the alliance. I alluded to efforts by Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz prior to the breakout of hostilities. Such diversity and creativity should be harnessed toward breaking deadlocks and resolving conflicts, without appeasing aggressors or sacrificing unity in the alliance.
It is in this light that the efforts of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to broker a peace deal in Ukraine should be seen. Schröder met with Putin in Moscow last Thursday (see Politico article) and shuttled afterwards to meet with Ukrainian officials.
Support of this effort does not dismiss criticism of Schröder for being too close to Putin, given his prominent roles in Russia’s oil and gas companies. But nor should we rush to condemn him as one of Putin’s “useful idiots” in the West, as the Daily Telegraph has done.
Let us recall that Schröder was the architect — with Tony Blair — of what I call “the Center-Left Blueprint” for sound public policy in the 1990s. In a post last year, I recommended that Team Biden adopt either the center-left or the center-right blueprint for economic policy — well-known and successful approaches honed over decades by leaders as distinct as Barack Obama and George H. W. Bush, or Mariano Rajoy and Emmanuel Macron.
The Schröder-Blair-Clinton center-left approach of the 1990s-2000s included fiscally-sound, pro-growth, market-oriented policies that reformed labor markets and social welfare policies, without neglecting the most vulnerable. See excerpt on this approach below.
Maybe Mr. Schröder can bring the same energy which helped get German unemployment down from 11% to below 5% toward solving this awful conflict, a war of aggression that has already resulted in horrific destruction and death for Ukrainians.
It is worth a try. Even if you’re not a fan of Gerhard. In war and peace, we must make sure we do not appease aggressors, yes, but we should also not allow our outrage to rule out creative solutions that can save lives and restore peace, without abandoning deterrence.
Schröder’s and others’ efforts may not be successful, not least given the concentration of power in Putin’s hands. Nevertheless, every effort to end the bloodshed should be pursued.
Excerpt from “Anchor the Biden Plan to 4 principles of Country Success”:
The Center-Left Blueprint
A Center-Left blueprint for country success emerged in the 1990s. The blueprint is pro-growth — making markets more flexible and dynamic — while cushioning the impact of capitalism on the most vulnerable.
In reaction to the ideological rigidity of Thatcherism / Reaganism, British Prime Minister Blair and German Chancellor Schröder launched the “Third Way” in 1998, with a manifesto calling for a fiscally-sound, market-oriented alternative to the traditional policies of left and right. Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton had arrived on the scene as a “New Democrat” with a similar policy approach.
The approach did not neglect social programs that empower the labor force, unlike the initiatives of their right-wing predecessors.
Nevertheless, budgetary discipline was imperative, both to ensure country success and to prove that Center-Left governments could be entrusted with the nation’s car keys.
In Germany, where the social welfare state had gotten too large and policies had become counterproductive to economic growth and jobs, Schröder’s coalition cut long-term unemployment benefits, making them conditional on active job-seeking and training.
The so-called Hartz labor reforms contributed to a decline in the German unemployment rate from over 11% in 2005 to under 5% in recent years. One indication of the success of a government’s reforms is when its political opponents, upon taking office, adopt them as their own — as Angela Merkel’s conservatives did in 2005. When this happens, a durable consensus can be the outcome.
