The German elections

[Tribesman]

Any thoughts on the results from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ?
Does the election of *** representatives to add to those *** members previously elected in Saxony show that people are really really dumb , or that those living in deprived areas (especially deprived rural areas where their vote reached over 20% in some villages) are desperate for any sort of answer offered , even if the answer offered is something that any rational person would find distateful or down right disgusting .

[Banquo's Ghost]

Any thoughts on the results from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ?
Does the election of *** representatives to add to those *** members previously elected in Saxony show that people are really really dumb , or that those living in deprived areas (especially deprived rural areas where their vote reached over 20% in some villages) are desperate for any sort of answer offered , even if the answer offered is something that any rational person would find distateful or down right disgusting .

As ever, Tribes' you make me work to reply to your posts!

The best source I could find was this.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Far right wins seats in German state assembly

By Erik Kirschbaum

SCHWERIN, Germany (Reuters) - A far-right party compared to the early Nazis by the German government has won seats in a regional parliament, helped by a weak economy and anger with Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition.

Preliminary results showed the National Democratic Party (NPD), which advocates closing German borders to immigrants, won 7.2 percent of the vote in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a northeastern state on the Baltic Sea which borders Poland.

If confirmed that result would allow the NPD to enter the regional assembly, making Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the third state in the ex-communist east with far-right representation.

The result alarmed mainstream politicians and Jewish groups, who called on the federal government to renew its bid to ban the party after a previous attempt failed.

"The government must look for ways to impose a ban," Dieter Graumann, vice president of the Central Council for Jews in Germany, told Reuters.

Results in the state showed the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) marginally ahead of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and on track to continue their ruling coalition with the reformed communist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).

Election data showed 15 pct of 18 to 24 year olds voted NPD in Mecklenburg.

In a federal election exactly one year ago, Merkel won a disappointingly narrow victory over her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, forcing her into a coalition with his SPD party.

Many Germans had hoped her "grand coalition", with its big majorities in both houses of parliament, would be able to push through crucial reforms.

But it has been plagued by infighting and struggled to deliver promised changes to the healthcare system. Experts say this has helped boost smaller parties like the NPD.

BERLIN MAYOR RETURNED

In a separate election in the German capital and city-state of Berlin on Sunday, the SPD under popular Mayor Klaus Wowereit remained the largest party as expected.

The result should allow Wowereit -- who won admirers in 2001 by outing himself with the words "I'm gay and that's a good thing" -- to continue to rule alongside the PDS or perhaps opt for a new coalition with the environmentalist Greens.

His victory came despite what critics say was a failure during his first term to tackle Berlin's crippling 60 billion euro debt-load and jobless rate of over 17 percent.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state where Merkel has her local constituency and where she hosted U.S. President George W. Bush for a barbecue in July, the economy is even weaker.

Nearly one in five is without work and the jobless rate hovers above 30 percent in some areas. Like other states in the former communist east, it has seen many leave in search of jobs.

Those conditions have provided fertile ground for the NPD, which was accused of using thugs to bully rival parties during the campaign. Its leaders have played down Nazi responsibility for World War Two and questioned the extent of the Holocaust.

Several hundred protesters gathered outside the parliament building in the Mecklenburg state capital Schwerin, waving "Nazis Out" posters.

After Sunday, the NPD will hold seats in the state assemblies of Mecklenburg and Saxony. Another far-right party, the German People's Union (DVU), holds seats in Brandenburg.

The federal government has compared the party to the Nazis of the 1920s and tried to ban them in 2003 in the country's highest court. It failed after members of the party who testified turned out to be informants planted by the police.

No far-right parties have made an impact at the national level. The NPD won just 1.6 percent of the vote in last year's federal vote, far below what parties like France's National Front have registered.

Whereas it is deeply unpleasant that the far-right appears to be making some gains, the 7.2% of the regional vote appears to be in line with other European countries experiencing social exclusion voting (BNP in the UK for example). These people get seats and then embarrass themselves - and I think having at least someone to vote for defuses a bit of the anger some of the ill-educated disenfranchised feel - and allows mainstream politicians to try and debate the futility of the far-right solutions. (And maybe make sure the mainstream remembers that there are minorities of people who do feel so excluded that they will vote for the far-right eejits).

This final paragraph highlights the real impact, methinks:

No far-right parties have made an impact at the national level. The NPD won just 1.6 percent of the vote in last year's federal vote, far below what parties like France's National Front have registered.

Disturbing, but not frightening - a wake-up call for the mainstream to do better.

[Husar]

I'm not the least worried.
I never noticed any effect of such a minority.
The reason for this is most likely that people feel like the government doesn't care about the people and wants only their money.
For most families the costs raise every year and companies also help with that. Not to mention that having a health insurance is compulsory and while those insurance companies want more money all the time, they pay a lot less.
People, me included, just wonder where all the money goes since almost none of it is returned.
While I, having had the pleasure of going to a humanistic high school and talking about Nazis until I couldn't hear it anymore, would never vote for them, other people may become more radical in order to solve their own problems(I lately had some discussions with my dad who sometimes seems to turn more radical the less money he gets).

I personally do not know how people in Germany can underestimate the far right in how dangerous they really are, but it looks like it still happens.

[Tribesman]

As ever, Tribes' you make me work to reply to your posts!

The best source I could find was this.

right , off to the sin bin with you Banquo , the source you posted contains the name of the group involved , if someone types that name into a search engine the might find the groups website .

Disturbing, but not frightening - a wake-up call for the mainstream to do better.
Yep a wake up call that the problem of the Ost Deutche is still to be sorted following re-unification , areas of social and economic deprivation are fertile breeding grounds for scummy ideologies .

[Banquo's Ghost]

right , off to the sin bin with you Banquo , the source you posted contains the name of the group involved , if someone types that name into a search engine the might find the groups website .

You might think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

The Ost definately has some major problems despite everything that has been done. In my short stay here in Sachsen-Anhalt I've seen a number of old condemned buildings, despite the fact that I am in the sort of rural area that in my experience doesn't have many of these. And even the village I am in, Diesdorf, which is considered to be very well off and well maintained has at least one old condemned building with broken windows. Luckily everyone I've met besides two skinheads who heckled my host parents and I near the center of town despises the NPD.

[Vladimir]

I'm not the least worried.

I personally do not know how people in Germany can underestimate the far right in how dangerous they really are, but it looks like it still happens.

The NAZIs had 13% of the Reichstag? Not a jab, I'm just trying to reinforce your point.

[Husar]

The Ost definately has some major problems despite everything that has been done. In my short stay here in Sachsen-Anhalt I've seen a number of old condemned buildings, despite the fact that I am in the sort of rural area that in my experience doesn't have many of these. And even the village I am in, Diesdorf, which is considered to be very well off and well maintained has at least one old condemned building with broken windows. Luckily everyone I've met besides two skinheads who heckled my host parents and I near the center of town despises the NPD.

People are leaving in the east, a well-known problem.
But considering you just got here and already got to know some skinheads sounds interesting since I cannot remember ever having had anything to do with Neo-Nazis(I assume by skinheads you mean you're sure that they were Neo-Nazis).

The NAZIs had 13% of the Reichstag? Not a jab, I'm just trying to reinforce your point.

I don't know how much they had but I doubt they could just take over again like they did the last time. Even if noone in Germany would oppose them, we do have some neighbors and friends around us who might not just stand there and watch it happen again.

[Banquo's Ghost]

The NAZIs had 13% of the Reichstag? Not a jab, I'm just trying to reinforce your point.

According to the article on Wikipedia, the Nazi Party had 43.9% of the vote in the Reichstag elections of March 1933 - this was its peak.

It's lowest showing was in May 1928, at 2.6%.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

People are leaving in the east, a well-known problem.
But considering you just got here and already got to know some skinheads sounds interesting since I cannot remember ever having had anything to do with Neo-Nazis(I assume by skinheads you mean you're sure that they were Neo-Nazis).

Well I assume they were because they had shaved their heads, were blasting loud and bad music, and my host father said they were skinheads several times. I couldn't actually give any evidence besides his comments for them being anything but the usual variety of young male idiots though.

[L'Impresario]

People are leaving in the east, a well-known problem.
But considering you just got here and already got to know some skinheads sounds interesting since I cannot remember ever having had anything to do with Neo-Nazis(I assume by skinheads you mean you're sure that they were Neo-Nazis).

They could have been skinheads with a good dose of Ostalgie. Frankly, I 've been for a few weeks in the east and stayed in old eastern Berlin for more than a month (well, Friedrichstraße isn't that "east" but anyway), and I don't think I 've seen any Neonazis, although I had some extended sorties around the city for a long time even in the wee hours- yes, one could say they sleep early like a good soldier of the Reich oughts to. I think in the east you 're more likely to stumble upon homeless people; that is often a sad sight, but some seem to enjoy themselves, at least they did near Bahnhof Berlin Friedrichstraße heh

[Banquo's Ghost]

I think you'll find most of the skinhead neo-nazis moved further east - to St Petersburg.