Schroeder attacks Bush in memoirs

Schroeder's book is bound to upset some people

The memoirs of Germany's former Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, have gone on sale in Berlin.

The book charts Mr Schroeder's seven years in power and contains criticism of some world leaders.

Mr Schroeder berates US President George Bush for his constant references to God before the war in Iraq.

He also accuses the present Chancellor, Angela Merkel, of weak leadership, but praises his close friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Schroeder had a year out of the limelight, but now he is back, not as chancellor but as the author of what is set to become Germany's new bestseller, the BBC' Steve Rosenberg reports from Berlin.

The book, Decisions - My Life In Politics, is set to put a few noses out of joint, our correspondent says.

One German newspaper wrote this week that "the old grizzly has returned from the depths of the forest and begun swinging at everything around him."

Writing of Mr Bush, Mr Schroeder says: "the impression arises that political decisions are the result of a dialogue with God".

The former chancellor fell out with the US president over the Iraq war.

But he is critical also of his successor, the first German woman chancellor Angela Merkel, saying she is a weak leader.