Conservative politicians in the state of Hessen have made crime committed by young foreigners a central campaign issue - je 02.01.2008

Here in Germany - in the run up to a key regional election - conservative politicians in the state of Hessen have made crime committed by young foreigners a central campaign issue. They HAD been focusing on proposals for introducing a national minimum wage. But that changed after a vicious pre-Christmas attack on a 76-year-old prompted a national debate about how to deal with youth violence -- particulary when the offenders are of non-German origin.