Months before the falling out: Gerhard Schröder (r.) and Oskar Lafontaine in the year 1998.
Foto: Peer Grimm / dpa
More than 24 years after their falling out, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former SPD leader and Federal Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine apparently seek reconciliation. According to information from „Stern“, the two met in May for a five-hour conversation at Lafontaine’s secret meeting in his house in Saarland. Now, Schröder congratulates his former rival on his 80th birthday.
According to trusted sources, the previously undisclosed meeting in early summer also included the presence of So-yeon Schröder-Kim and Sahra Wagenknecht, the wives. Schröder and Lafontaine reportedly temporarily withdrew to discuss their history and disagreement privately. Current issues were also discussed, it was said. Schröder and Lafontaine have since resumed phone conversations.
Lafontaine wird an diesem Samstag 80 Jahre alt, Schröder verfasste für den »Stern« eine Glückwunschbotschaft. Darin heißt es unter anderem: »80 Jahre alt zu werden ist gewiss ein Grund, alte Reibereien Geschichte werden zu lassen.« Schröder dankte Lafontaine zudem für seine »jahrzehntelange Freundschaft«.
The split between Lafontaine and Schröder in 1999 not only created an epic feud between the two men, but also brought about significant changes in the political landscape, particularly on the left. Reconciliation seemed unimaginable until now.
The last known correspondence between the two occurred on the afternoon of March 11, 1999. At that time, Lafontaine’s letter reached Schröder’s Chancellor’s Office in Bonn through a messenger. The letter stated: „Dear Mr. Chancellor, I hereby resign as Minister of Finance. Sincerely, Oskar Lafontaine.“
After the 1998 victory of the red-green coalition, Lafontaine became the Finance Minister under Chancellor Schröder and remained the leader of the SPD. In early 1999, he unexpectedly resigned from all positions and gradually distanced himself from his political home and former allies. In 2005, he eventually joined the newly formed party WASG, which later merged with the PDS to form the Left Party, where Lafontaine assumed important roles.
Schröder, der als enger Freund von Russlands Präsident Wladimir Putin gilt und über Jahre für russische Energiekonzerne tätig war, stieß seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs gegen die Ukraine wegen fehlender Kritik an Putin auch in der eigenen Partei auf Missbilligung. Trotz seiner Russland-Nähe darf er jedoch in der SPD bleiben. Anträge auf Berufung gegen eine entsprechende Entscheidung der SPD-Schiedskommission in Hannover wurden in letzter Partei-Instanz als unzulässig zurückgewiesen.