The mainstream German media and the established political parties in Germany have joined together in a viscious smear campaign against Oskar Lafontaine and the LInkspartei (the New Left Party). The SPD in Brandenburg labeled Lafontaine a Preacher of Hate (Hassprediger); in Bavaria the CSU has called him a National Communist, while Joscka Fischer compared him to the Austrian right-wing extremist Joerg Haider in an interview with Der Spiegel today. Albrecht Müller points out on his Web site that even the liberal paper Die Zeit has launched a disinformation campaign against Lafontaine and the Linkspartei. As Klaus Hillenbrand writes in taz today, this is a coordinated demonization of Lafontaine and the Linkspartei:
Was die Parteien von CSU bis Grüne mit ihren Beschuldigungen bezwecken, ist nur allzu durchsichtig: Lafontaine und mit ihm die Linkspartei sollen dämonisiert werden. Er soll als so gefährlich gelten wie Saddam Hussein. Mindestens. Die Botschaft lautet: So einen darfst du, liebes Volk, keinesfalls wählen! Macht also euer Kreuz lieber bei den bewährten Parteien!
The fact is, Lafontaine is resonating with many voters in Germany: they no longer feel represented by the "establishment parties" (Greens included). They can see through the "reforms" being thrust upon them by the SPD/CDU; these will only benefit corporations, their management, and large corporate shareholders (not to mention the locusts). Even the namesake of the Hartz IV labor reforms – Peter Hartz – has been forced to resign from the Volkwagen management board in disgrace because of a scandal involving bribes. The efforts by Fischer and others to paint Lafontaine and his supporters as neo-Nazis will fail; the smear campaign will backfire and result in more voters switching to the Linkspartei. The situation reminds me of how in 2003 the two political parties in the US as well as the mainstream Media attacked Howard Dean when he had the courage to speak the truth about the US invasion of Iraq. Name-calling begins when there is a clear lack of ideas.
