Oskar Lafontaine

Oskar Lafontaine is a German politician, born the September 16th 1943 with Sarrelouis, member of the Linkspartei, former president of SPD.

He is mayor of Saarbrucken of 1974 with 1985, minister-president of the Land of the Saar of 1985 with 1998, president of the Bundesrat of November 1st 1992 with the October 31st 1993,

He is candidate in 1990 with the chancellery against Helmut Kohl; during this countryside, it with the caroïde gashed by one unbalanced, it will lose more than three liters of blood. Being opposed to convertibility for between the currencies of the West and the East, it records the worst result of SPD to the federal elections since 1957; this score is to be relativized knowing the euphoria of then for the German reunification.

In 1995, he becomes president of SPD by beating Rudolf Scharping with the Congress of Mannheim. Gerhard Schröder having been preferred him like candidate with the Chancellery, he becomes Minister for Finance of the Cabinet Schröder I the October 27th 1998. Opposed to a policy which he considers too liberal, he resigns the March 11th 1999, of his post of minister of Finances, his electoral mandates and the presidency of SPD. He will emit then violent criticisms against the government of Gerhard Schröder, in particular by publishing a few months later " Das Herz schlägt Links" (The heart beats on the left).

The May 24th 2005, it announces its resignation of the SPD. It then forms an alliance between the old East-German Communist party, PDS, and the new party WASG under the name of Linkspartei, is the left party . This coalition manages to exceed the bar of the 5% necessary to return to the Bundestag with 8.7%. It is also the first time that a formation on the left of the left transcends East-West cleavage fifteen years after the Reunification. Since the September 21st 2005 it is with Gregor Gysi president of its political group to the Bundestag. In December 2005, he becomes member of Linkspartei.

In 2005, it affirms its opposition to the project of European Constitution, like its filiation with part of the French left.

Family, Studies, Work

Oskar Lafontaine is the son of Hans Lafontaine, baker and of Katharina Lafontaine. He did not know his father fallen during the Second world war. He has a twin brother.

Schoolboy, it is with the boarding school: das Bischöfliche Konvikt of Regino-Gymnasiums with Prum located in the Eiffel.
Il takes down its Abitur, the equivalent of the vat in 1962. He studies then with Bonn and Saarbrucken, he is graduate of physics in 1969.

Until 1974, it works for the shipping company public and of Saarbrucken provisioning and starting from 1971 as a member of its committee of administration.

Of 1982 with 1988 it is married with the sculptrice Margret Lafontaine. He is currently married in third wedding with Christa Müller and has two wire.

Political life up to 1990

Political official of the SPD in the Saar

1966: adhere to SPD.

1968: elected official in the leading authorities of SPD of the Saar.

1970 with 1975: deputy inside his federate State.

1974 with 1976: mayor of Saarbrucken.

1976 with 1985: " super maire" (Oberbürgermeister) of Saarbrucken.

1977 with 1996: chair SPD of the Saar.

1980: conduit the list of SPD of the Saar and obtains a relative majority. It replaces thus the outgoing coalition CDU - FDP. 1985: after a first unfruitful test, is elected in the majority absolute first president SPD of the Saar. This success will be confirmed in 1990 and 1994. It occupied this station until October 1998.

See also: Cabinet Lafontaine I, Cabinet Lafontaine II, Cabinet Lafontaine III

Against the double-decision of NATO

That refers to a decision adopted by NATO the December 12th 1979 aiming at modernizing the nuclear forces of theater with long range. Thus 108 missiles Pershing II and 464 American cruise missiles will be deployed in Europe. Oskar Lafontaine, opposed to such a deployment, requires Erhard Eppler just like that the Federal Republic of Germany leaves NATO. It becomes thus one of the dissenting voices inside its own party and in particular against the chancellor Helmut Schmidt. This opposition crystallizes clearly in the population and within the members of SPD after the failure of the negotiations on disarmament in Geneva in autumn 1982. The ambient excitation due to this business sharpened criticisms of Lafontaine, it affirmed in particular: “Helmut Schmidt speaks especially about feeling of having, possibility, feasibility, firmness. They are secondary qualities. To be completely effective one could also use a concentration camp”. Because of this declaration, it will present its excuses to Helmut Schmidt. Its point of view on the national defense policy is described in its book Angst VOR den Freunden (Fear vis-a-vis the friends) left in 1983. According to him, the strategy of the nuclear deterrence of the superpuissances destroys alliances.

September 1st 1983, the day antiguerre, Lafontaine takes part with a few thousands of opponents in the armaments in a sitting which will last three days in front of the American military deposit with Mutlange, the precise place where the missiles Pershing-II were envisaged to be installed. At the time of this demonstration were also present the writer Heinrich Böll, the former mayor of Berlin Heinrich Albertz and some other personalities.

Ideas of program as a member of the SPD

In 1987 Willy Brandt proposes Lafontaine like successor with the presidency of the party, to have in particular a renewal générationnel. Lafontaine refuses. After the withdrawal of Willy Brandt, it is indicated carries jointly word of SPD with Johannes Rau to support the new president of SPD Hans Jochen Vogel.

Lafontaine takes the head of a commission which must work out the broad outlines of a new program for SPD. This one is adopted at the time of the Congress of December 1989 and encourages SPD to center its efforts on the following points: disarmament with the international level, equality of the man and the woman to work and in the company, a modernization of the economy in the field of ecology, a reform of the social protection system. In this Lafontaine report/ratio engages on a reduction of the working time without maintenance of the wages. That will bring criticisms of the central trade-unions to him West German. It is scoffed to be a " modernisateur".

Positions on the process of reunification

After the fall of the Berlin Wall Lafontaine wanted to avoid a collapse of the East-German economy as well as political complications and those thanks to the assistance of the four victorious powers of the Second world war. To support the maintenance of the East-German population on its ground, but also to record the economic level, he proposed a financial support. The November 27th 1989 it moreover advised to limit the internal immigration of the East-German population towards the Federal republic. It thus charged the president with the Land of the the Saar with examining whether one could in West Germany return legally depending attribution on a housing and a work. It then attracted itself many critics with the center even of its party. In particular the president of SPD Hans-Jochen Vogel will reproach him as follows: “The wall fell and you try to rebuild it. ” (Spiegel 51/1989, page 81).

The chancellor Helmut Kohl presented his plan in 10 points on the German reunification the November 28th 1989 and thus as well developed an intense debate inside the country like abroad. It then defended the idea of a confederation of two German States moving hand in the hand towards the unit, leaving the questions of the recognition of the border which separates Is West like that of the membership of the Germany " unie" with open alliances. This is why Lafontaine warned SPD the December 18th 1989 on what it called a " enivrement national". He commented on the participation of a Germany plain in NATO, as that had been publicly required by the adviser of the chancellor Horst Teltschik, like “a historical insanity”. He criticized the fact that the plan of Helmut Kohl had not been developed in dialog with the old victorious powers of the Second world war. On this point it was in perfect agreement with Mikhaïl Gorbatchev which wanted that GDR remains independent and who did not want extension of NATO to the East Germany.

Because of its opposition to the plan of Helmut Kohl, it will pass for an opponent to the German unit: “he did not want it inside and” will say it outside was refused. Moreover, it will be reproached to him for not putting forth proposals for the reunification but only of primary education criticisms against the plan of Helmut Kohl. However contrary to this spread idea, it did not reject the German unit. He simply considered that the idea of the State-nation per hour of the European construction was obsolete. He underlined on the other hand the ambition of the international social-democracy, the national unit aims like result roughly obtaining the same standard of living, and the same chances of development. He believed like many leaders of SPD, that a " nouvelle" fixed reunification of false political priorities and awakes in the European countries fear to see developing a nationalist revival in Germany. As much of East-German citizens he meant that GDR was to be reformed politically and economically without pressure on behalf of the West. He wanted thus first of all to preserve his autonomy. Finally it supported as Helmut Kohl a confederation of the two German States partial within the framework of a process of unification paneuropéen.

Candidate SPD with the chancellery

After its electoral victory with 54,4% of the voices to the election in Landtag in the the Saar the January 28th 1990, Lafontaine was named unanimously by the leader of SPD like candidate with the chancellery. After its nomination, it was surrounded by many friends of the party and European economic experts, of which the former chancellor Helmut Schmidt, the president of Bundesbank Karl Otto Pöhl, the president of the European commission Jacques Delors, the trade union leader Franz Steinkühler. It found an assent of his collaborators in his refusal of an economic and monetary Union fast. It conditioned its candidature for this requirement besides.

Before the February 13rd 1990, the date of the congress of the party SPD with Leipzig, Lafontaine presented its political and economic doubts. He informs that a broad part of the agricultural and industrial economics was likely to crumble in GDR before the monetary union is competitive. To support economically East Germany, it hoped on increases of taxation in the West and transfers of several billion over decades the West towards the East. It also pointed out that these rises of taxes were going to weaken the investment as an old Federal republic and that job losses would cause a threat for social cohesion in all the Germany. Instead of an abrupt introduction of Deutsch Mark, it recommended the introduction of a fixed foreign exchange rate. After Bundesbank had in April recommended a rate of exchange of 2:1 and thus started a strong protest in GDR, Lafontaine made evolve/move its position by supporting a rate of exchange of 1:1.

The April 25th 1990 Lafontaine is seriously wounded at the time of a meeting in Cologne by one unbalanced Adelheid Streidel. The members SPD of the Bundestag will deviate from its political line for its period of convalescence.

The May 18th 1990 the federal government negotiates with that of GDR the “contract on the economic, social and monetary union”. That means that GDR accepts the economic system, social and policy of the West Germany. The June 22nd 1990 by a vote with secret bulletin SPD, under the recommendation of Willy Brandt approves the monetary union. Because of the reversals of SPD compared to its own political line, Lafontaine announces the withdrawal of its candidature for the post of chancellor. However nobody of other was ready to replace it. Following a vote with the Bundesrat, only Lafontaine, chair the Saar and Gerhard Schröder, president of the Lower Saxony, refused the monetary union.

After the victorious powers of the Second world war yield on their refusal to see the Germany reunified, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat vote the 20 and September 21st 1990 the “contract of union”. That allowed with a vote two thirds, the adhesion of GDR to the FRG in accordance with article 23 of the German fundamental law. Thus Germany is officially reunified the October 3rd. Lafontaine then developed an alternative concept, more austere compared to enthusiasm than had caused the reunification. It was a failure since SPD recorded for the first legislative elections of reunified Germany, the worst score since 1957 with 33.5%. After this Lafontaine failure withdrew itself from the policy at the federal level, renonca at the station chair SPD which had been offered to him. There will remain president of the the Saar.

Businesses and modification of the right of the press

In 1992 the very serious weekly magazine “Der Spiegel” reveals that the retirement of Lafontaine as “a super-mayor” of Saarbrucken was calculated without taking account of its incomes of president of the Land of the Saar and that consequently it received too much money. The financial expert Hans Herbert von Arnim and the Court of Auditors of the Saar confirm the facts pled by the newspaper. Lafontaine refunds approximately 230.000 marks and avoids a lawsuit. The advanced justification was a vague payment, that the old CDU majority (on the level of the federate State) had set up. This business is known under the name of “business of the retirements”.

In 1993, the journalist Kuno Haberbusch of “panorama” inquires into the relations between Lafontaine and the world of the night in the years 1970. That will be known under the name of the “hot businesses”. The magazine “Der Spiegel” suspects it of having rendered services with figures of the medium. Lafontaine is said calumniated. It rejete all the reproaches which are made to him and prevents the diffusion of a report by taking an adequate decree. He does not deny that he went often out of nightclub but refuses all derived suspicions which he considers unfounded. He criticizes this type of journalism by describing it as “journalism of pigs”. In 1994, in answer to these practices, it modifies the right of the press of its Land, which leads to prohibition for the journalists to comment on the answers made by a person following an attack by a drafting. It makes then vis-a-vis a considerable opposition on behalf of the press and media. This intervention in the right of the press sullied its reputation in all Germany much more than the suspicions in the hot businesses. Nevertheless its approval rating in the Saar did not suffer from it.

Random links: