Could Germany’s attempt to ban neo-Nazis backfire?
At the end of January, Germany’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) introduced a bill in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s parliament to fine or throw in prison every foreigner who enters the state without the proper paperwork. The proposal was the latest in a long line of inflammatory proposals the NPD has put forth since it gained seats in the state’s parliament in 2006. Like every other NPD proposal, it was voted down.
Even though the sparsely-populated state is currently the only one in the country with NPD representatives in office, many German politicians see the party as more than a local nuisance. They believe that the NPD’s presence in state parliament, however limited, threatens the country’s democracy, tarnishes Germany’s reputation abroad and gives the party a platform to propagate dangerous extremist views.… Seguir leyendo »