Springtime for Wannabe Hitlers

David Weigel | May 5, 2006

The racist British National Party has beaten expectations to win a total of 44 local council seats in the UK's elections. In the London borough of Barking and Dagenham (which should be familiar to Morrissey fans) they picked up 11 seats - making them the 2nd biggest party in a local government for the first time, ever. The reason: Barking and Dagenham is a popular settling ground for Muslim immigrants.

There's some hand-wringing and speculation over whether this is the start of a far-right fascist revival like the Le Pen movement in France, or whether it's a flash in the pan. Check out BNP leader Nick Griffin's hilarious BBC interview and noodle whether this guy has the stuff to take over a country.

UPDATE: If it's not immediately clear, you need to click on the video link at the top right of the BBC page to see the interview.