The Irish Times view on the trial of right-wing extremists in Germany: a bizarre story of our times

One of nine suspected participants in a far-right coup plot wears handcuffs and hides his face behind a folder as he is brought to the courtroom in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Monday. (photo: Getty Images) ( Photo Bernd WeiàŸbrod / AFP) The opening in Stuttgart of a treason trial of nine members of a far-right group's military wing, accused of plotting the violent overthrow of the German state, puts a sharp focus on the alarming threat of far-right extremists to Germany's democratic institutions. The hearings, and two imminent associated trials in Munich and Frankfurt, are expected to be the longest…