Europe News
US congressman: Germany's Schroeder borderline "prostitute" (Roundup)
By DPA
Jun 12, 2007, 16:51 GMT

Washington - Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's close business ties to Russia amount to 'political prostitution' that would even offend people who sell their bodies for money, a top US congressman said on Tuesday.

Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor who chairs the House of Representatives committee on foreign affairs, attacked both Schroeder and former French president Jacques Chirac for failing to support the United States in its 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Speaking at the dedication ceremony for a victims of communism memorial in Washington, Lantos said their departure from the European scene heralded a closer relationship in the Atlantic alliance, which was badly splintered over Washington's decision to launch the invasion of Iraq without strong European support.

Lantos' remarks reflected the lingering bitterness over French and German opposition to the war, as he recalled how the US saved Europe from fascism and protected it from communism for generations. He said the two leaders had turned their backs to the US and its fight against the next wave of tyranny, Islamic fascism.

The congressman then provoked gasps of amusement and surprise in the crowd of several hundred when he said he would like to call Schroeder 'a political prostitute, now that he's taking big cheques from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. But the sex workers in my district objected.'

During his final weeks in office in 2005, Schroeder signed an agreement between Germany and Russia to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea to supply gas directly to Germany.

After leaving office, he became chairman of the North European Gas Pipeline, which is 51-per-cent owned by Russian state natural gas company Gazprom - a move that provoked outrage in Germany.

Russia has used its energy reserves as a political chip in its continuing bid for hegemony in eastern Europe, and has come under severe criticism for repression of press and other freedoms.