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Advance of neo-Nazi NPD party faltering

The neo-Nazi National Party of Germany (NPD), riven by internal conflicts and financial sanctions, is faltering, said a law enforcement official in the latest issue of news magazine Focus.

Published: 7 December 2008 12:55 CET
Advance of neo-Nazi NPD party faltering
Photo: DPA

A series of financial irregularities uncovered in the NPD’s finances means the party may have to return millions in government funds it receives as a legitimate political party. If that happens, the party’s chances in next year’s regional elections will be “shrunk considerably,” said Winfriede Schreiber, the head of Brandenburg’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is charged with monitoring extremist groups.

The party currently holds seats in several regional parliaments in former East German states. The NPD hopes to expand it’s margins further in upcoming elections in Brandenburg and Thüringen, as it did in elections this year in Saxony.

Schreiber said that in addition to the financial problems, the NPD’s membership is fracturing because some elements don’t believe the party’s line is radical enough, which has already lead to members abandoning the party.

But despite the developments, Schreiber warned that it wasn’t time to sound the all-clear about the NPD and that it could still pose a threat.

On Saturday, about 800 NPD supporters and neo-Nazis marched through an East Berlin suburb, followed by 1,000 left-wing counter-demonstrators and 1,600 police officers. At least 60 counter-demonstrators were arrested for throwing bottles and other objects at the NPD march.

BERLIN

Tesla’s factory near Berlin gets approval for extension despite protests

Tesla has confirmed its plans to extend its production site outside Berlin had been approved, overcoming opposition from residents and environmental activists.

Published: 17 May 2024 08:54 CEST
Tesla's factory near Berlin gets approval for extension despite protests

The US electric car manufacturer said on Thursday it was “extremely pleased” that local officials in the town of Grünheide, where the factory is located, had voted to approve the extension.

Tesla opened the plant – its only production location in Europe – in 2022 at the end of a tumultuous two-year approval and construction process.

The carmaker had to clear a series of administrative and legal hurdles before production could begin at the site, including complaints from locals about the site’s environmental impact.

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

Plans to double capacity to produce a million cars a year at the site, which employs some 12,000 people, were announced in 2023.

The plant, which already occupies around 300 hectares (740 acres), was set to be expanded by a further 170 hectares.

But Tesla had to scale back its ambitions to grow the already massive site after locals opposed the plan in a non-binding poll.

The entrance to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg.

The entrance to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lutz Deckwerth

Their concerns included deforestation required for the expansion, the plant’s high water consumption, and an increase in road traffic in the area.

In the new proposal, Tesla has scrapped plans for logistics and storage centres and on-site employee facilities, while leaving more of the surrounding forest standing.

Thursday’s council vote in Grünheide drew strong interest from residents and was picketed by protestors opposing the extension, according to German media.

Protests against the plant have increased since February, and in March the plant was forced to halt production following a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines claimed by a far-left group.

Activists have also built makeshift treehouses in the woodland around the factory to block the expansion, and environmentalists gathered earlier this month in their hundreds at the factory to protest the enlargement plans.

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