Schroeder says writing book helped him out of rut

BERLIN, Oct 27 (Reuters) Gerhard Schroeder said he wrote his wave-making memoirs to get out of a rut he fell into after leaving office and insisted today he had left politics for good even if he still believed he did not lose a 2005 election.

The former German chancellor was at his entertaining best deflecting tough questions at the launch of his book ''Decisions -- My Life in Politics'' before a crowd of more than 300 journalists, political leaders and German novelist Siegfried Lenz.

Schroeder used his humour to defend his widely criticised decision to publish excerpts of his 544-page memoirs in advance in the very newspaper, the mass circulation Bild, that he had savagely attacked a year ago for campaigning against him.

He also dismissed, with help from Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker who presented the book, suggestions there was anything unsavoury about his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

''The first months (after leaving office) were not easy,'' Schroeder, 62, said when asked for the book's central message.

''I didn't want to stop but was forced to because of the results.

''I realised I needed two things: to come to terms with the new situation and find something reasonable to occupy myself with. Some people now say: 'He hasn't come to terms with it'. But I have. I am completely at peace with myself.'' Schroeder stuck to his unorthodox view his Social Democrats did not ''lose'' the 2005 election because they came from 23 points behind in the opinion polls to get 34.3 per cent, less than 1 point behind the Christian Democrats' 35.2 per cent.

''It was an extremely interesting campaign,'' he said of one of the greatest post-war comebacks that fell just short. ''Can anyone really say we 'lost?' I wanted to win outright and would liked to have led a grand coalition, if not for very long.'' WRITING HARD WORK Schroeder did not expand on his criticism of US President George W Bush (he ''saw himself as 'God-fearing'') or his successor Angela Merkel (''lack of leadership'') that emerged from advance excerpts and a magazine interview at the weekend.

But he did explain his eyebrow-raising choice to entrust the excerpts with the same newspaper, Bild, that he had vilified last year for what he said was slanted coverage against him.

''You shouldn't carry a grudge forever,'' Schroeder said, when asked about his about-face with the powerful newspaper that has 12 million daily readers. ''I'm no longer an active politician.

''I still consider it unfair what they did. But because I'm no longer in that position, maybe it (publishing excerpts in Bild) will help make a truly important book even better known.'' It was rushed into bookstores today, two days ahead of schedule, due to high demand, the publishers said. Its first print is 160,000 copies and is to be translated into eight other languages. Schroeder reportedly will earn 1 million euros for it.

Schroeder admitted he found writing to be exhausting.

''Fortunately the weather was bad in August; otherwise I might have had a problem (making the deadline),'' he said. ''I found you can't write for more than four or five hours a day.'' Schroeder, now a private businessman who among other jobs oversees a controversial Russian-German natural gas pipeline project, also addressed critics of his friendship with Putin, whom he lavishes praise on throughout his memoirs.

''Russia is indeed something that has become a part of my heart,'' Schroeder said. ''What's true is that it comes out clearly in the book that this type of personal relationship can help to resolve conflicts and is not to conceal interests.'' REUTERS PB VV0939