Letter: Oskar ceremony

Sir: The joy of the money men at the departure of Oskar Lafontaine should disturb everyone else. It parallels the rapture with which World Bank emissaries greeted the resignation of the head of Uganda's Central Bank because he opposed privatisation.

Oskar Lafontaine, for all his reported eccentricities, stood for some form of democratic control of the money system. Is Gore Vidal's view of America true for Europe, that the money men have bought politics, the media, and even the churches? It looks like it.

KEVIN DONNELLY

Christian Council for Monetary Justice

Manchester