The Populist contagion sweeping Europe spreads to Germany.
Driving into the east German countryside can be a nerve-racking experience, and not just because the roads are narrower and the coffee worse. It’s because we know that, behind those twitching lace curtains in those respectable cottages, there are woodchopping, apple-picking, hay-baling neo-Nazis lurking.
How do we know? Because occasionally they emerge. This past month, they came out on the streets of the east German city of Chemnitz. After a 35-year-old local was stabbed to death there, and two suspects, an Iraqi and a Syrian, were arrested, a protest was organised.
Some of the demonstrators were ordinary citizens worried about law and order. But there was also a nasty conflation of football hooligans, neo-Nazis and mixed martial arts fighters – the last’s motto: “white brothers testing themselves against white brothers”. Those groups called adherents to come to the Chemnitz protest, eventually estimated at 6000 strong.
Denne historien er fra September 29 - October 5 2018-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra September 29 - October 5 2018-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
