Word: thuringia
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...ugly turn last week when the country's far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) threatened a black member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Angolan-born Zeca Schall, who has German citizenship, was featured on CDU campaign posters in the eastern state of Thuringia, which is holding a regional election on Aug. 30. The posters went up on Aug. 1; 10 days later, the NPD attacked Schall on its website, calling him a "n_____ for the CDU party quota," telling him to "go back home to Angola" and urging its members to deliver the message...
...Schall, 45, has been living in Hildburghausen for more than 20 years and has been advising the regional CDU party on integration issues since 2007. Although he isn't running for office in the Thuringia state elections, he's a prominent member of the CDU's campaign team. Schall's picture on the party's posters - alongside shots of a florist, a pensioner and a student - is meant to celebrate Thuringia's diversity, despite the fact that the state is home to very few immigrants. "I was shocked by what the NPD did," he tells TIME in a statement...
...defense, the NPD says on its website that it's reacting out of concern for German workers: "Angola needs Schall, and there are 100,000 Germans who need Schall's job in Thuringia." But many see the party's outright attacks on Schall as a sinister sign that the once sidelined party is growing more confident. While the party hasn't been able to get into Germany's federal parliament - the Bundestag - it has been more successful at the grass-roots level. The NPD is well organized and active in local communities, launching popular campaigns and reaching out to young...
...Reinfrank says the conservative government in Thuringia, led by Merkel ally Dieter Althaus, isn't doing enough to counter the threat of far-right extremism. "The state government should support local groups that fight against the far right," he says. "Other regional governments have mobile consulting teams or help lines for victims of far-right violence, but the state of Thuringia doesn't invest enough time and resources to tackle the problem." The Thuringia government refutes Reinfrank's criticisms, arguing that it has steadily increased funds dedicated to working against the rise of the far right...
...According to some opinion polls, the NPD has around 4% of the vote in Thuringia, just below the 5% needed to get into parliament. With less than two weeks to go, the party could still pull in enough votes. In a 2004 regional election in the eastern state of Saxony, observers wrote off the NPD's chances of getting into the state parliament, yet the party proved the pollsters wrong and went on to win 9.2% of the vote. The NPD's attacks on Schall are just the latest chilling reminder that the far right is still alive and kicking...