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| 'Poll boost' for German far right | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Early results in German regional polls show the far right has won seats in an eastern state and Chancellor Angela Merkel's party has performed poorly. | |
| The far right National Democratic Party (NPD) won about 7% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - with 5% needed to enter parliament. | |
| The previous government compared the NPD to the early Nazi party. | |
| The polls also showed Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat (CDU) party trailing rival parties in Berlin. | The polls also showed Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat (CDU) party trailing rival parties in Berlin. |
| Early results gave the NPD between 7.1% and 7.3% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. | |
| Erwin Sellering, deputy leader of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) in Mecklenburg, said that result would be "depressing for us all because it was our common goal to prevent it". | |
| Early results showed Berlin's popular Mayor Klaus Wowereit of the SPD clearly heading for re-election, as had been thought likely. | |
| Soaring unemployment | Soaring unemployment |
| The BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin says the results suggest another setback for the CDU, which has been haemorrhaging support at the national lead because of infighting. | The BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin says the results suggest another setback for the CDU, which has been haemorrhaging support at the national lead because of infighting. |
| Two states in former communist eastern Germany already have far-right MPs. | Two states in former communist eastern Germany already have far-right MPs. |
| The NPD's support is partly explained by its hard anti-immigrant stance in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which has soaring unemployment. | The NPD's support is partly explained by its hard anti-immigrant stance in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which has soaring unemployment. |
| Mrs Merkel, who became the country's first woman chancellor less than a year ago, would have wanted to do well in the state, which includes her home constituency. | Mrs Merkel, who became the country's first woman chancellor less than a year ago, would have wanted to do well in the state, which includes her home constituency. |
| The state is currently governed by a so-called "red-red" coalition of Social Democrats and the Left Party. | The state is currently governed by a so-called "red-red" coalition of Social Democrats and the Left Party. |
| Manufacturing has collapsed across the former East German state following reunification in 1990, forcing many of its residents to go west in search of work. | Manufacturing has collapsed across the former East German state following reunification in 1990, forcing many of its residents to go west in search of work. |
| The government of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had tried to ban the NPD, describing it as a latter-day version of Hitler's Nazi party. But Germany's Supreme Court rejected Mr Schroeder's attempt in 2003. | |
| The NPD has lawmakers in the state of Saxony, following regional elections in 2004. | |
| Another far right party - the German People's Union (DVU) - entered parliament in the state of Brandenburg. |