Xenophobia, anti-Semitism, trivialization of Nazi crimes: According to a study, more and more Germans share right-wing extremist attitudes. Accordingly, their share has practically tripled compared to previous years.
In Germany, the number of supporters of right-wing extremist attitudes has increased. This is the result of the “Mitte Study”, which surveys the attitudes of the middle of society every two years on behalf of the SPD-affiliated Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Eight percent of people in Germany share a right-wing extremist worldview, which is one in twelve adults. In previous years this was two to three percent.
The current survey shows increases in all indicators that the experts use to measure right-wing extremist attitudes. These include national chauvinistic attitudes, the trivialization of the crimes of the National Socialists, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and social Darwinist attitudes that distinguish between “valuable” and “unworthy” lives.
When it comes to political self-identification, more people now say they are “right” or “more right” of center, namely 15.5 percent compared to ten percent in the two previous surveys, according to the study.
“Anti-democratic Positions on the rise”
The study shows “that parts of the middle of society are distancing themselves from democracy or have lost trust in functioning institutions,” explained the chairman of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Martin Schulz. “Populism and anti-democratic and ethnic positions are on the rise.”
In the survey, more than six percent support a dictatorship with a single strong party and a leader for Germany. 16 percent have a negative attitude towards “foreigners”. Around a third of those surveyed – 34 percent – also believe that refugees only come to Germany to take advantage of the social system.
Trust in democratic institutions has fallen
At the same time, trust in the institutions and the functioning of democracy falls to below 60 percent. At 38 percent, a significant proportion of those surveyed represent conspiracy-believing positions. Populist and ethnic-authoritarian-rebellious positions are also widespread – among 33 percent and 29 percent of the survey participants, respectively. “These results are not only frightening, but also require consistent action – from politicians, but also from society itself,” said Schulz. The people rightly demanded a strong, effective and functioning state. But the democratic center itself is also called upon to clearly distance itself from anti-human attitudes.
Since 2006, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation has published a new edition of the so-called “Mitte Study” approximately every two years. For the current survey, 2,027 people were representatively surveyed from January 2nd to February 28th.