Original source URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5349696.stm 'Poll boost' for German far right Early results in German regional polls show the far right has won seats in an eastern state and Chancellor Angela Merkel's party has performed poorly. The far right National Democratic Party (NPD) won about 7% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - with 5% needed to enter parliament. The previous government compared the NPD to the early Nazi party. The polls also showed Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat (CDU) party trailing rival parties in Berlin. Early results gave the NPD between 7.1% and 7.3% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Erwin Sellering, deputy leader of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) in Mecklenburg, said that result would be "depressing for us all because it was our common goal to prevent it". Early results showed Berlin's popular Mayor Klaus Wowereit of the SPD clearly heading for re-election, as had been thought likely. Soaring unemployment The BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin says the results suggest another setback for the CDU, which has been haemorrhaging support at the national lead because of infighting. Two states in former communist eastern Germany already have far-right MPs. The NPD's support is partly explained by its hard anti-immigrant stance in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which has soaring unemployment. Mrs Merkel, who became the country's first woman chancellor less than a year ago, would have wanted to do well in the state, which includes her home constituency. The state is currently governed by a so-called "red-red" coalition of Social Democrats and the Left Party. Manufacturing has collapsed across the former East German state following reunification in 1990, forcing many of its residents to go west in search of work. The government of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had tried to ban the NPD, describing it as a latter-day version of Hitler's Nazi party. But Germany's Supreme Court rejected Mr Schroeder's attempt in 2003. The NPD has lawmakers in the state of Saxony, following regional elections in 2004. Another far right party - the German People's Union (DVU) - entered parliament in the state of Brandenburg. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/5349696.stm Published: 2006/09/18 01:13:33 GMT © BBC MMVI -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Blogs: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html
