Rightwing extremist views increasingly widespread in Germany, study finds

Rightwing extremist and anti-democratic attitudes are becoming increasingly widespread in Germany, according to a study examining the public’s political views.

Commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is closely affiliated with the Social Democratic party, the study showed that 8% of the population had a distinctly rightwing extremist view of the world, a rise of between 5% and 6% on previous studies, while the “centre middle” was becoming “ever more receptive to misanthropic positions”.

The findings also showed that an increase, to 6% of those questioned, advocated social Darwinist views, agreeing with the statement “there are worthy and unworthy lives”, up from 2% to 3% since 2014.

More people than in previous studies – 15.5% – considered themselves to be “right of centre”, while 55% saw themselves as “exactly in the centre”, compared with 60% or above in the previous decade.

Those desirous of a single-party and authoritarian led state (the word used in the study was führer), rose from between 2% and 4% in 2014 to 2021, to 6% now.

The 400-page study, carried out by researchers at the University of Bielefeld, questioned 2,000 people at the start of 2023, who represent a cross-section of the population.

An increasing number said they saw the need for Germany to put itself first in national matters, with 16% saying they would like the country to have a “stronger sense of national identity” led by politicians whose priority it should be to ensure Germany has its fair share of “power and prestige”.

Less than 60% said they had faith in democracy and institutions, with 20% – a rise of 4% – believing in the statement “our country increasingly resembles a dictatorship rather than a democracy”, while almost a third said the statement “the governing parties are deceiving the people” rang true, and a similar number said they believed that politicians and the media were “in bed together”.

More than a third believe that refugees came to Germany only in order to exploit its social welfare system, while 16.5% accused Jewish people of wanting to “take advantage” of the Nazi past – despite the fact that 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Other parts of the study showed further antisemitic positions, or at the very least ambivalence over the issue.

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There were further indications of a rise in intolerance, denigration and prejudice, the authors said.

Seventeen per cent said they considered the “identity of trans people” to be “contemptible”, while 11% said women should “reflect once again on their roles as wives and mothers”.

The study was first published in 2006 and is carried out every two years.