The number of far-right extremists increases in Germany

In Berlin, the research entitled “Far-right and anti-democratic attitudes in distant central Germany”, prepared by a group of academics led by Bielefeld University professor Andreas Zick in Germany, was presented to the public.

According to the research, due to various crises and conflicts, a significant part of society is further away from basic democratic values ​​and principles compared to previous studies.

Research reveals that democracy in Germany is in crisis: the rate of people not going to the polls is increasing, opponents of democracy are becoming stronger and distrust in state institutions, the media and politics .

It was revealed that 8.3 percent of participants shared far-right views. Thus, it was found that one in 12 people in Germany shares an extreme right-wing attitude. It was recalled that this rate was 1.7 percent in the research carried out in 2021.

The proportion of those who consider themselves politically “further to the right of the democratic center” increased by 6 points compared to the previous survey, reaching 15.5 percent.

While 6 percent of survey participants approved of the dictatorship, this rate was 2.2 percent in the 2021 survey.

While the rate of those who approve of xenophobic speech increased from 4.5 percent to 16.2 percent, the rate of those who oppose this speech decreased from 74.1 percent to 53.5 percent.

The rate of those defending anti-Semitic statements increased by 4 percent compared to 2021, reaching 5.7 percent.

“I AGREE WITH THE BAN ON MUSLIMS COMING”

While 34 percent of respondents approve of the idea that refugees come to Germany to benefit from the social system, 16.5 percent maintain that Jews benefit from it today due to the history of National Socialism in the country.

To the statement that Muslims should be banned from coming to Germany, 8.4 percent of respondents responded “strongly agree”, 9.7 percent responded “I tend to agree” and 23 percent responded “partially agree.”

The investigation also revealed that public distrust in the government is high.

30 percent of respondents approved of the statement “Parties in government deceive the public.” This rate has doubled compared to research conducted two years ago.

42 percent of respondents do not feel safe due to the war in Ukraine, inflation, pandemic, climate crisis and other problems.

For the research, which is carried out every two years, 2,027 people were interviewed by telephone between January 2 and February 28. (AA)