Just In: Red Oskar's Out

[Carl Remick]

German Finance Minister Steps Down
BONN, Germany (AP) -- Germany's finance minister resigned today in an
apparent power struggle with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over economic
policy. 
``The chancellor expressed regret at the resignation, which came as a
surprise, and thanked Oskar Lafontaine for his work,'' Schroeder's
spokesman Uwe-Karsten Heye said in a terse statement. 
Lafontaine also stepped down as chairman of the Social Democratic Party,
party officials said. 
Schroeder warned several of his ministers that their sometimes zealous
policies were alienating voters and industry, newspapers reported today.
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Carl Remick