German Neo-Nazi Party Gains According To Election Exit Polls
AP news story.German newspaper article. Let me quote the latter story, as it's more detailed:
This is why I posted that huge slice of history. There are only a few things that precipitate the rise of fascism: 1, political deadlock preventing any progress, so any leader can walk into power (this is especially threatening in Germany, which has quite a few large parties); 2: dissatisfaction to turn into radicalism (even when Hitler was expanding the Nazi party, the German communist party also grew, at least until Hitler banned the communist parties); 3: fear of some outside force (it was communism when Hitler gained power, could terrorism cause that same fear again?); 4: usually, a major economic decline/crash/depression. #4 is not always necessary for the rise of fascism, but it is common. One could argue that the Soviet Union caused that depression for all of Eastern Germany, but that argument would require a lot of speculation. Interestingly, racism isn't always a part of fascism.
Anyway, I'm not saying Germany will go fascist again. I don't think such a thing is really possible (unless there is a burning of the Reichstag again, such as a huge terrorist attack, but that would probably turn the Germans against Arabs). However, this does present some terrible signs for Germany. The nation may experience a political deadlock, where the mainstream parties have difficulty finding a majority so they must gain support of a somewhat-extreme party.
That means German leadership will sway a bit, and Germany will not be better for it.
"For Brandenburg and Saxony the growing strength of the right radical parties and the PDS is almost catastrophic," Anton Börner, president of the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade told the Berliner Zeitung.
"Whoever votes for the extremists is teaching nobody a lesson," Georg Braun, head of another trade group told the paper. "He harms the image, and through that the economic growth of his home region for years."
This is why I posted that huge slice of history. There are only a few things that precipitate the rise of fascism: 1, political deadlock preventing any progress, so any leader can walk into power (this is especially threatening in Germany, which has quite a few large parties); 2: dissatisfaction to turn into radicalism (even when Hitler was expanding the Nazi party, the German communist party also grew, at least until Hitler banned the communist parties); 3: fear of some outside force (it was communism when Hitler gained power, could terrorism cause that same fear again?); 4: usually, a major economic decline/crash/depression. #4 is not always necessary for the rise of fascism, but it is common. One could argue that the Soviet Union caused that depression for all of Eastern Germany, but that argument would require a lot of speculation. Interestingly, racism isn't always a part of fascism.
Anyway, I'm not saying Germany will go fascist again. I don't think such a thing is really possible (unless there is a burning of the Reichstag again, such as a huge terrorist attack, but that would probably turn the Germans against Arabs). However, this does present some terrible signs for Germany. The nation may experience a political deadlock, where the mainstream parties have difficulty finding a majority so they must gain support of a somewhat-extreme party.
That means German leadership will sway a bit, and Germany will not be better for it.
posted by Chris at
12:45 PM
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