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Mr Lafontaine’s misgivings about European monetary union were not so well received

Mr Lafontaine’s misgivings about European monetary union were not so well received. “With the election of Oskar Lafontaine, the SPD is leaving the political centre ground,” commented Peter Hintze, the Christian Democrats’ general secretary.But economic reality has tempered Mr Lafontaine’s socialist zeal, and he has proved adept at toning down some of the rhetoric In foreign affairs, he remains firmly on the left, however. Even in his native Saarland, Mr Lafontaine’s most noted recent achievement is the profitable conversion of a derelict foundry into a theme park.His leftist leanings have been seized upon by Mr Kohl’s party as an electoral liability. The son of working-class parents, the new SPD leader is on the left of the party, embodying the blue-collar values that are finding ever fainter echoes in the 1990s. As German industry migrates to rural regions in the south or exports jobs to cheaper countries in Europe, the ranks of the class-conscious working class are dwindling. Mr Lafontaine was forced to spin a convoluted fable about cash flows and his high cost of living in order to escape censure.His tastes might be expensive, but his origins and politics are humble. He also has quite a reputation as a bon viveur.In 1992 Saarland’s parliament discovered that he was paying himself a state pension, at the age of 48, on top of his salary as prime minister.

“I am aware of my responsibilities and depend on all of you to support me,” he said in his victory speech.If charisma were all they needed, the Social Democrats would be home and dry. Mr Lafontaine, the 52-year-old prime minister of Saarland, has bags of wit and charm, and a populist touch that few can match. Although Mr Lafontaine has only won a two-year term, his role in preparing the Social Democrats for the 1998 general elections will be crucial. “Now we have it.”The new leader faces the task of uniting Social Democrats behind policies that can challenge the conservative hegemony.

After a series of regional- election setbacks, the party has plunged to its lowest poll rating since the war. Mr Lafontaine, who led the party’s unsuccessful electoral challenge to Mr Kohl in 1990, had received 321 votes; Mr Scharping, defeated by Mr Kohl last year, a derisory 190.”I was of the view that we needed clarity,” Mr Scharping muttered. Mr Scharping, his pallid features turning ever paler, seemed to be choking back tears as his popularity within the party he has led for two years was enumerated. The party really took off an hour later, when the result of the ballot was read out. Then, as fate would have it, he it was who had to convey the news of his imminent demise: “I asked Oskar if he was going to be a candidate,” Mr Scharping told the hushed audience. “Oskar answered my question by saying he would run.”The announcement brought the roof down, rewarding Mr Scharping with the first real table-thumping ovation at a conference already into its third day. Helmut Kohl’s Christian Democrats, 14 points ahead in the latest polls, now face an energised opposition no longer dragged down by a leader devoid of ideas and charisma.
Until yesterday morning, Mr Scharping stood unchallenged for the post of chairman.

Amid scenes of jubilation befitting a great election victory, Germany’s main opposition party, the Social Democrats, yesterday dumped the unpopular Rudolf Scharping, and acclaimed the colourful Oskar Lafontaine as their new leader. The stunning coup, hatched overnight by Mr Lafontaine after a rousing speech at the SPD’s conference in Mannheim, sent shivers down the spines of conservative politicians in Bonn. Charges had not been brought last night.Mr de Marco said the protest “was a declaration of war against the Government. If it tries to introduce the most racist Bill ever and send people back to their deaths, we will stop it in any way necessary.”. The act of defiance came as pressure increased from Tory MPs for a dedicated “safe area” close to the Palace of Westminster in which broadcast interviews could be conducted with ministers and MPs.
The police were forced to apologise for taking 20 minutes to respond to frantic 999 calls from Alan Duncan MP, the chairman’s parliamentary aide, after Dr Mawhinney was accosted on College Green on his way to interviews after the State Opening of Parliament.The Commons Sergeant at Arms is expected to hold an inquiry into the possibilities of a dedicated press area.Betty Boothroyd, the Speaker, was said yesterday to have been concerned about possible risks to safety since the leadership contest in the summer, when the green was in constant use for media interviews.Authorities at Kingsway College, Holborn, moved quickly to distance themselves from the holding of the news conference on its premises, saying it was convened in the canteen by Nick de Marco, student union president at Kingsway and an organiser of the Movement for Justice, which was behind the paint-throwing.Two A-level students at the college, Karen Doyle and Naveed Malick, both 18, were arrested for assault on Wednesday, along with Amanda Egbe, 20, a sabbatical officer on the student union of the University of North London. Supporters of Wednesday’s paint and flour attack on Tory party chairman, Brian Mawhinney, yesterday convened a follow-up press conference in their London college, declaring “war” on the Government over the proposed Asylum and Immigration Bill. Greater co-ordination of defence policies was needed in Europe but the EU was not seeking to recruit a regiment of “Maastricht Rifles”..