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CRIME

Extreme right crime soars in Germany

Crimes and others offences committed by far-right groups soared by almost 30 percent in 2008, the daily Frankfurter Rundschau reported Saturday, quoting Interior Ministry figures.

Extreme right crime soars in Germany
Photo: DPA

There were 11,928 such incidents during the first ten months of 2008, compared with 9,206 in the same period the year before. The number of violent attacks went up 15 percent to 639, while anti-semitic incidents rose from 716 to 797.

Meanwhile a survey by the Friedrich-Ebert Institute suggested that 20 percent of Germans are openly prejudiced against foreigners. In the former East Germany the ratio is one in three, the institute claimed.

Right-wing extremism in Germany recaptured media attention this month when a police chief was stabbed by a suspected neo-Nazi in the Bavarian town of Passau. So far, no solid leads have been uncovered, though several people with neo-Nazi sympathies in Passau have been questioned.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that attacks by neo-Nazis represent a danger to all Germans. In the wake of the stabbing in Passau, more and more politicians have called for a ban on the National Democratic Party (NPD), the most prominent of the legal far-right parties in Germany.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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