Schroeder back in the public eye

For a man who wanted to keep away from the cameras and out of the public eye during his two-week holiday in Majorca, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has already been the focus of three photo-calls, will be in the media spotlight again this Friday when he meets King Juan Carlos of Spain for talks at Marivent Palace in Palma. Last week Schroeder met Balearic Chief Minister Francesc Antich for talks over lunch in Valldemossa and on Monday, the German Chancellor met the newly-elected leader of the PSOE socialist opposition party, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, for discussions over lunch in Santa Maria, near to where Schroeder and his wife Doris are staying. Schroeder will be received by King Juan Carlos at 10.30 am on Friday, but sources close to the German Chancellor said yesterday that Schroeder is not expected to make any official statement to the press after the meeting. The King and Queen of Spain are to be joined during the second half of their annual Majorca summer holiday by King Alberto and Queen Paola of Belgium.