The German government on Friday announced steps to choke off state campaign finance for the far-right NPD party, after a failed court bid to outlaw the xenophobic fringe group. The initiative aims to deprive the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) of taxpayers' money, to which German political parties are generally entitled, before September elections. Handing government funds to the NPD amounted to "a direct state subsidy for far-right hate speech," said Justice Minister Heiko Maas. The NPD garnered just above one percent in Germany's last elections in 2013, insufficient for it to win representation in parliament. It has also lost ground to the right-wing populist and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which currently polls at between eight an 11 percent.

Source: The Local April 07, 2017 11:15 UTC