The Return of Joschka?

When Fischer announced his departure from active politics in 2005, the end of a public life seemed to be something he was looking forward to.

"The beautiful thing about this decision is that you're all part of my past now," Fischer told journalists at the end of a press conference announcing his resignation from parliament.

While that may have (more or less) been the case for the past two years, the iconic ex-politician is back at the center of media attention. After previous books on weight-loss and another one about the post-Sept. 11 world, a well-fed Fischer has just published the first part of his political memoirs.

"The Red-Green Years -- German Foreign Policy from Kosovo to Sept. 11" hit book stores on Thursday, Oct. 4. It covers the first four years of his time in office from 1998 to 2001 and focuses on the tough battles ahead of Germany's first military mission after World War II, in the former Yugoslavia.

Green dilemmas

The book comes at a time when Fischer's Green party colleagues are torn between the former über-leader's legacy and a strong current to bring the party back to its pacifist roots.

Fischer has harshly criticized his party's recent decision not to support a renewal of the military mission in Afghanistan. He also said it would make it less likely for the Greens to return to power after the 2009 election.

"If the Greens think that they can return to a leftist protest profile without paying a hefty price, they're mistaken," the 59-year-old told German magazine Stern in an interview, adding that Germany should expand rather than cut back its presence in Afghanistan.

"Now some people might understand better why I just wanted to get away," Fischer told Der Spiegel newsmagazine in another interview coinciding with the publication of his book. "The party was very exhausting. It enabled me to have a great political career, but I was just tired at the end."

After a stint as a guest professor at Princeton University and a reported move from his central Berlin apartment to a house in the German capital's posh Grunewald neighborhood, Fischer seems to have regained his spirits. He's founded a political consultancy firm and serves as a co-chair of the newly established European Council on Foreign Relations.

"No more concerts"

While some see Fischer's reappearance as a sign of his possible return to politics, the man himself has repeatedly said that he has no desire to return to his old line of work and will not appear at Green party events during future election campaigns.

"No more concerts," Fischer, who once described himself as Germany's last "live rock and roller," told Stern.

He's also rejected rumors that he's interested in the country's top job -- the largely ceremonial federal presidency.

"There are few offices that I'm less qualified for," Fischer, a high school dropout and former taxi driver, told Stern. "If there's something I didn't like as foreign minister, then it was the representative, the ceremonial aspects. That's not me."

Instead, Fischer will soon start writing the second part of his memoirs, he said on Thursday.