Germany's Record Unemployment and Ultra-right Politics
According to February's unemployment statistics, for the first time since World War II more than 5 million Germans are without a job. They and many other Germans are worried.
Reaching the 5 million mark had an immediate impact on Germany's national confidence. In a poll taken a couple of days after the unemployment figures were released, 85% of the Germans surveyed expressed concern for their personal future. Every third German who still has a job is apprehensive that he will lose it.
In the eastern part of the country—formerly the nation of East Germany—50% of jobholders fear they will be laid off. Two out of three believe that the nation's unemployment rate will continue to rise.
Increasingly, there is a lack of confidence among the German people that their government will be able to turn the tide on unemployment. They are fearful over Germany's prolonged economic slump.
As a result, considerable pressure is on Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's government. Part of it stems from the recent success of Germany's ultra-right NPD party (the Democratic National Party). The NPD has been around a long time. It made headlines as early as 1968 when it won and held seats in a German state legislature for one term.
Now, 36 years later, its former success has been repeated. The NPD won 12 seats in last fall's elections for the state legislature in the new state of Saxony (Sachsen) within what was formerly East Germany. The NPD garnered 9.2% of the votes cast, an increase of 7.8% in the 5 years since the last election.
With unemployment rates twice as a high as in its western states, Germany's newer states in the eastern part of the country have become fertile ground for ultra-right political activity.
The NPD has a radical "Germans first" platform. It demands that immigration to Germany must be highly restricted and that foreign guest workers must be sent home so Germans can take their jobs.
Several state elections will be held this year. And if the German economy doesn't show significant improvement soon, the NPD is poised to attract—especially among the young—even more voters who are disillusioned with the traditional parties' efforts to solve the nation's economic problems. This is a grave danger in the heart of Europe—especially since Austria also has a similar ultra-right political party.
The recent unemployment figures prompted Bavarian governor Edmund Stoiber—who opposed Chancellor Schröder in the 2002 election—to accuse Schröder of promoting indirectly the far right NPD through his failing economic policies. Stoiber fears that "... the economic failure of the Schröder government is creating a breeding ground for extremists who exploit the hopelessness of people and thereby endanger our democracy" (Welt am Sonntag, February 6, 2005).
He thinks that Germany could be approaching a crisis very similar to the one it faced in 1932 that opened the door for Adolph Hitler to seize power. It was in that election that millions of disenchanted voters propelled the Nazi Party to a prominent position of influence in the German Reichstag.
Chancellor Schröder, of course, is convinced that he is not underestimating the potential danger of the NPD's gains. His response to the NPD plan to conduct a protest rally in Berlin at the Brandenburg gate on the 60 th anniversary of the end of World War II (May 8 th), has been to ask "decent democrats" to stage a counter rally.
But mere demonstrations will not be enough to bring the current tensions to an end. Germany must quickly begin solving its unemployment problem if it is to counteract the growing sense of frustration and hopelessness within the country, especially in its eastern states.
There are some hopeful indications that the government will act in time. But if it doesn't, a real tragedy could be in the making. Germany' economy is the largest in Europe. Therefore, it is essential that its government remain stable because of its impact on the economy—and the political stability—of all of Europe. History has made it very clear that a fanatical right-wing government can disrupt the political scene of the entire European continent.
All present European governments seem determined to prevent such crisis from happening again. However, biblical prophecy indicates that at least a few European governments will once again come under the control of leaders with an ultra-right agenda. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the warnings that the Bible gives us concerning the future of that portion of the world that once hosted the Roman Empire.