For some of his former colleagues, Oskar Lafontaine is beginning to look like a saviour
Posted on 01/26/2003 3:55:32 PM PST by MadIvan
GERMANY’S Social Democrats, facing almost certain defeat in regional elections next week, are calling for the return of Oskar Lafontaine, the left-wing firebrand once dubbed the “most dangerous man in Europe”.
For some of his former colleagues, Oskar Lafontaine is beginning to look like a saviour |
“We should no longer shut the door on him,” Ludwig Stiegler, deputy leader of the Social Democratic parliamentary group, said. “He is welcome to fight within and on behalf of the Social Democrats.”
His first task, Herr Stiegler said, should be to reconquer the Saarland where he was once Prime Minister. “That would be a kind of compensation, a re-entry ticket — then he could have again a bigger role on the federal level.”
Herr Lafontaine stormed out of Herr Schröder’s Cabinet in 1999. He abandoned his job as party chairman and refused even to answer telephone calls from the Chancellor. The dispute was started by the Chancellor’s attempts to draft a common programme of modernisation with Tony Blair.
Since his melodramatic exit Herr Lafontaine has been in political purdah, condemned to writing columns in the tabloids and pontificating on talk shows.
As far as some Social Democrats are concerned, that is where the troublesome politician, often caricatured as the Napoleon of the Saar because of his small stature and big ambitions, should stay.
Franz Müntefering, leader of the Social Democrat parliamentary group, was quick to slap down Herr Stiegler: “If Oskar Lafontaine really wants to help the Social Democrats, there is only one possibility: he should keep his mouth shut in public.”
But with Social Democratic support at a devastating low in opinion polls, Herr Lafontaine (who carries the nickname “Red Oskar”) is beginning to look like a saviour.
Yesterday he again fired a broadside at the “neoliberal gossipers” of the Government. He expects, as do many observers, that Herr Schröder will lose badly in two regional elections in Lower Saxony and Hesse next Sunday and that in order to regain the initiative he will then move quickly to present himself as a modernising and reforming Chancellor, not in thrall to the Left.
Herr Lafontaine’s support, however, is precisely on the Left (the trade union movement, the anti-globalisation and anti-war protesters), and that is the sector that he believes will bring back core voters to the party.
Certainly it is difficult to see how the Chancellor’s plans to introduce savings cuts and pro-business policies will win over the many defecting Social Democrats. According to an opinion poll on Friday, the Social Democrats, with 25 per cent, are recording their worst popularity ratings since 1977. The Christian Democrats have sympathy votes of 56 per cent.
In Hesse, Roland Koch, the Christian Democrat prime minister, looks unbeatable next Sunday, with support of more than 50 per cent. In Lower Saxony, Sigmar Gabriel, the incumbent Social Democrat, has lost a dozen percentage points in the polls in as many weeks.
Regards, Ivan
Kind of. Everything is relative - they are more to the right than the socialists, certainly. But not by much.
Regards, Ivan
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