(17 Nov 1995) German/Nat

Germany's new opposition leader Oskar Lafontaine says he doesn't want Germans fighting in Bosnia. Even so, he says he'd support a peacekeeping role for his country in the region.

Lafontaine, who ousted the Social Democrats' former leader Rudolf Scharping on Thursday, outlined his policies at a national party convention Friday, in the city of Mannheim.

Social Democrats hear their new leader's views.

Outlining his policy just one day after taking over as leader of the main German opposition party, Oskar Lafontaine said the Social Democrats would enjoy a bright new future under his leadership.

The party is lagging badly behind Chancellor Helmut Kohl's ruling Christian Democrats in the polls.

SOUNDBITE: (German)
"It's a new beginning for us. Friends and colleagues in the competing democratic field be prepared. We are coming back."
SUPER CAPTION: Oskar Lafontaine, Leader of the SPD

Backing up their new leader, the Social Democrats convention on Friday demanded that German fighter jets stay out of a future NATO force for Bosnia.

German Tornados, along with other NATO warplanes, have already flown reconnaissance sorties against Bosnian Serb targets.

Lafontaine told delegates Germany must be wary about entering foreign wars because of its Nazi past.

The Nazis supported a puppet Croatian state in World War Two, and were responsible for atrocities against the Serbs.

SOUNDBITE:
"This is a question of our identity. And if we say as a majority, reflecting back on our party's history and that of our country, we don't want fighting German forces. That is a clear position. That is a trademark of our party."
SUPER CAPTION: Oskar Lafontaine, Leader of the SPD.

Lafontaine also laid out his views on European union, appealing to many voters who fear their strong Deutschmark will be dissipated in a common European currency.

SOUNDBITE:
"A European central bank alone does not solve the problem. Secondly, for those European states that cannot participate at the start, they will need a European currency system with a set range. This is so that the countries don't distance themselves within the European union, and especially that it doesn't come to a devaluation race. And short advantages on the international export market. This is our position."
SUPER CAPTION: Oskar Lafontaine, Leader of the SPD.

The backing for Lafontaine's position indicates the party could play upon many Germans' distaste for military involvement abroad as the nation heads toward 1998 federal elections.

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