Volume 48, Number 17 · November 1, 2001
Odd Man Out
By Timothy Garton Ash
The Heart Beats on the Left
by Oskar Lafontaine, translated from the Germanby Ronald Taylor
London: Polity Press, 219 pp., $59.95; $24.95 (paper)(distributed in the US by Blackwell)
On March 11, 1999, Oskar Lafontaine, one of the most powerful figures in the recently formed government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder—some even whispered, the most powerful of all, the power behind the throne, the socialist Richelieu of German politics, described by the British tabloid The Sun as 'the most dangerous man in Europe'—dictated a letter to his secretary. It read: 'Dear Chancellor, I hereby resign from the office of Federal Finance Minister. Yours sincerely, Oskar Lafontaine.' He simultaneously resigned his position as leader of the Social Democratic Party and his parliamentary seat. Germany was stunned, and the business community generally delighted. The German stock exchange index, the DAX, gained 6 percent in fifteen minutes, and the euro rose two cents against the dollar. 'Red Oskar' was gone.
Review, 3394 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |