The far-right National Democratic Party (npd) has won parliament seats in Germany’s north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the first time following regional elections on Sunday. Neo-Nazi parties now have seats in the parliaments of three German states. “The result appears to confirm fears that the npd is now an insidious and established part of Germany’s political landscape, especially in the country’s depressed former Communist east,” wrote the Guardian (September 18).

The npd gained 7.3 percent of the vote, securing for itself 6 parliamentary seats, a significant gain on its last poll showing of less than 1 percent. This means that an overtly racist and deeply nationalist party—likened to Hitler’s Nazi party by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder—is entitled to state funding and has a legitimate political voice.

The npd campaigned on a strongly anti-immigration platform. In eastern Germany in particular, where unemployment is approaching 20 percent, such a platform has a certain appeal: Economic problems can be blamed on foreigners. Professor Hajo Funke of Berlin’s Free University, an analyst of far-right trends, commented that “The failure of the mainstream parties to cope with the mass unemployment and social upheaval after unification had made people more receptive to the radical right” (Spiegel Online, September 13).

Though we do not believe a wholesale German swing toward neo-Nazi parties will occur, the fact that such parties are becoming increasingly popular demonstrates dissatisfaction with the status quo. Eastern Germans, in particular, are disillusioned with what democracy has brought them, and some are willing to turn to more extreme “solutions.” Unfortunately, Germany’s history shows that such a mindset can be exploited by power-hungry leaders.

At the same time, the growing popularity of neo-Nazi groups, while not necessarily proving support for their most extreme xenophobic views, certainly reflects a growing concern among Germans concerning Muslim immigration. The npd and other such right-wing groups have a policy of, in simple terms, “Germany for the Germans.” The anti-immigration movement is gathering steam as the immigrant minority, predominantly Muslim, fails to integrate into European society. As Germans become disenchanted with the slowness of more politically correct mainstream parties to deal decisively with such issues, they will become more open to alternative political solutions.

In reality, the fact that extreme-right political groups are gaining a presence in more state parliaments reflects an increasingly dissatisfied German populace which will, at some point, provide fertile ground for a truly powerful leader to come to power who will address Germany’s pressing problems in a very decisive way.