The German government is alarmed at a weekend of local elections which saw neo-Nazis propelled into power in towns and cities across the country.
Right-wingers seized council seats in many major urban centres as the recession bites and anti-foreigner sentiment increases.
Berlin, acutely aware of Germany’s past when the world’s last major recession opened the window for Adolf Hitler and his supporters, is thrashing around for a solution to the burgeoning allure of the extremists, particularly among the young.
In the east German cities of Leipzig, Dresden, Weimar, Schwerin, Rostock and Erfurt the main neo-Nazi party the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) won seats in all councils. In Parthenstein in Saxony the NPD candidate tied with his centre-left social democratic opponent – but then won the vacant seat by drawing straws with his rival.
In the state of Thuringia the NPD seized 21 seats, in Saxony 73, trebling their numbers from the last elections in 2004. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania it now has representatives in most local councils.
In the wealthy western Saarland the NPD won seats in the city councils of Saarbruecken and Völklingen. In Saarbücken the party won 1.9 per cent of the votes, in Völklingen 4.6 per cent, and in the ancient Roman city of Trier they won their first seat in the city parliament.
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