Schröder and Lafontaine: “Dear Oskar”: The end of male enmity?

Schröder and Lafontaine
“Dear Oskar”: The end of male enmity?

For almost a quarter of a century, they have been united by a legendary male enmity, a hatred that has been expressed in public. Looking for former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his former finance minister Oskar Lafontaine suddenly wants reconciliation? A birthday greeting in the magazine “Stern” suggests this: “Dear Oskar,” Schröder writes, making it clear that he would like to put an end to old friction. They are unusually conciliatory tones. But the former SPD grandees now have something in common again: they have both become the party’s enfants terribles.

One thing is clear: Schröder and Lafontaine have a lot of history to deal with. Until the 1998 federal election, Lower Saxony and Saarland maintained a kind of political partnership of convenience – with both sides having ambitions to run for chancellor. Schröder prevailed, Lafontaine became finance minister after the red-green election victory and remained SPD leader. But it didn’t take long for the spectacular break: on March 11, 1999, he unexpectedly resigned from all offices.

The rift not only gave rise to a mercilessly public rivalry, but also changed the political landscape of Germany. Because Lafontaine increasingly broke away from the SPD. In 2005 he moved to WASG and then became a co-founder of the Left Party. In the meantime he was parliamentary group leader and party chairman. Last year, the husband of left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht also spectacularly left this party.

Lafontaine and Schröder both turn 80

In the coming days or months, Lafontaine (the older one) and Schröder (the younger one) will both turn 80 years old. Does age make you mild? It is probably more than what motivated Schröder to send an unexpected birthday greeting to his arch enemy.

“Dear Oskar,” he writes. “Once again you are faster than me. You will be 80 years old on September 16th this year, I won’t be until April 7th next year. I would like to congratulate you very much on your 80th birthday!” And: “Turning 80 years old is certainly a reason to let old frictions become history.” He ends the congratulations with “Best regards, your Gerd”.

Apparently secret meeting in May

So is the rapprochement coming from Schröder, who has hardly any friends in political Berlin because of his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine? Apparently not only, because according to information from “Stern”, Lafontaine and Schröder met in May for a long, secret personal conversation. The wives So-yeon Schröder-Kim and Wagenknecht are said to have been present at Lafontaine’s house in Saarland. In some cases, the ex-politicians worked through their differences in private. The two have spoken on the phone since then.

It is not known what Schröder and Lafontaine talked about. Current questions are also said to have been discussed. In the meantime, at least on the surface, they have more in common again: the SPD has broken away from both. Attempts to expel Schröder from the party because of his lack of criticism of Putin failed. But no one in the Willy Brandt House likes to mention his name anymore. The Schröder mugs have long since disappeared from the shop, and there is no picture of him hanging in the party headquarters. Neither Schröder nor Lafontaine appear in the list of major Social Democrats.

But why the rapprochement now of all times? The question is obvious, especially since Wagenknecht, the former icon of the left, is considering founding his own party. The idea that she could bring Schröder on board seems a bit far-fetched. The process surrounding his expulsion from the party has shown that the former chancellor is attached to the SPD – and perhaps just wants to bury a hatchet.

dpa