Schröder said he was "anything but anti-American, even though he openly challenged U.S. policy in Iraq. In the Der Spiegel interview, he described how he had tears in his eyes as he watched the events of Sept. 11, 2001, on television. "It was important to me that Germany fulfill its requirements as an ally," he said.
But when it came to the planning for the Iraq war, Schröder, referring to Bush, told Der Spiegel that "if a person adopts a policy based on what he gleans from his prayers, in other words, a personal talk with God, it can lead to difficulties in democracy."

Schröder went on to criticize the growing role of religion in U.S. politics.  "We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the role of law are not clearly separated," he said. "But we fail to recognize that in the U.S.A., the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies."

When asked by Der Spiegel if he still believed Putin was an "impeccable democrat," as Schröder himself called him during one of his several meetings with the Russian president in 2005, he replied: "I have nothing to correct."
The interview with Schröder coincided with the murder of the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya outside her Moscow apartment over two weeks ago.

If George W. Bush or Tony Blair ever pulled a similar stunt and took a job at Halliburton just weeks after leaving office, they'd be in hot water with the German media for years and the talk of scandal would have no end.

The German press took a different view, even as Russian visitors to Dresden wanted to return to their pre-established agenda. The critical comments in the press were interpreted by the Russian representatives as a "concerted attack from the other side of the barricade." Russia's ambassador in Berlin, Vladimir Kotenev, spoke of "German campaign journalism." A TV reporter from Russia's "First Channel" -- which is known to be sympathetic to Putin's government -- even drew a historical comparison between contemporary German newspapers and the media propaganda of the Soviet Union during the 1970s. He concluded that the only reason Russians have a good relationship to Germany is that they don't read the German press.
A liberal Moscow-based editor-in-chief later commented that the squabbling in Dresden prompted by Politkovskaya's death amounted to "a conversation among deaf mutes." But more than that, it seems to have been a lesson on the differences between two journalistic cultures -- a lesson that left a fresh feeling of helplessness over how to deal with Russia.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday denounced the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and vowed to bring those responsible to justice. Questions about the contract-style killing, which has drawn condemnation from round the world, dominated a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that also touched on business and energy issues. (...) Putin was heckled by a man in the crowd over the murder as he got out of his limousine in the eastern city of Dresden, where he served as a KGB agent in the 1980s. Waving a banner with "Murderer" on it, the man shouted: "You're a murderer, you're not welcome here."

Andreas Schockenhoff, foreign policy expert for Merkel’s conservatives in parliament, said Politkovskaya's murder was "a serious setback for the development of democracy in Russia".

SPIEGEL: In the past, your party in particular emphasized the German-American friendship. Now you're just talking about relations. A deliberate downgrade?

Merkel: Oh, please! I can just as well call it "friendship." The German-American friendship! Is that better? We're splitting hairs here. I want to improve the quality and substance of the German-American relationship.

SPIEGEL: Does the word friendship also describe the German-Russian relationship?

Merkel: It's more of a strategic partnership. I believe that we do not share as many values with Russia yet as we do with the United States. On the other hand, we have a strong interest in Russia developing in a reasonable direction.

SPIEGEL: Do you consider Vladimir Putin "a flawless democrat," as your predecessor once called him?

Merkel: I would like to see Russia develop as democratically as possible. But when we judge Russia we must also consider where the country is coming from. Our concepts of democracy can't just be schematically transferred. However, I do admit that I'm concerned about some recent developments, such as the new laws against non-governmental organizations.

Merkel has promised a less personalized relationship than the warm camaraderie displayed by Schroeder and Putin, and she has been more willing than Schroeder to politely raise issues such as human rights.
But analysts say she realizes she cannot alienate her country's biggest natural gas supplier with fierce criticism, and her government says it is committed to more integration and cooperation. Major German companies are also eager to deal, and Russia is a key partner on security issues such as Iran and North Korea.
"Putin needs Germany as his major ally in Europe, and Germany — at least the German elite — is willing to play the role of Russia's advocate in the West," said Alexander Rahr, a Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the forum's steering committee.
"Mrs. Merkel was at first quite cool on Russia but now she understands that she can play a mediating role between the United States and Russia on questions like Iran and the Middle East," he said.

The prominent attention given energy issues at the EU-Russia "summit" in Lehti, Finland, on October 20 was quite illustrative. The summit demonstrated that there is a converging perception in Western and Central Europe regarding the risks of energy dependency on Russia.