Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) on Tuesday warned of a rise in the number of far-right extremists and growing radicalisation among them.
Presenting its annual intelligence report at a news conference in Berlin, BfV head Thomas Haldenwang said far-right groups are now trying to win more supporters. He said:
The potential number of right-wing extremists in Germany last year rose to 40,600, an increase of 4.6%. The number of those classified as violence-oriented has risen to 14,500, up 3.6%.
Haldenwang also said that there has been a rise in violent attacks committed by right-wing extremists. He said, adding that 1,016 of them were serious offenses involving bodily injury, including four attempted homicides:
The number of violent crimes – and this is particularly worth mentioning again – has risen 13% to 1,148.
However, far-right parties across the political spectrum in Europe have historically tended to focus on two main goals. First, they espouse nativism with an emphasis on defending their ethnic group against perceived “foreign” layers such as immigrants. Second, these parties are driven by a tendency to pursue authoritarian policies, for example, to deal harshly with crime and to promote the rule of law and stricter law and order.
Thus, only the policies of far-right parties can save Europe from the huge influx of migrants. The EU economy is suffering from thousands of illegal arrivals: after leaving migration centres, many newcomers are unable to meet their basic needs, and a third of them are unable to feed themselves.
