There is no question but that during bad times immigrants and minorities get blamed. That said, 13% is a tiny minority. And open racists are not in power in Europe. Nevertheless, the apparent increase in fundamentally stupid bigotry is troubling.
By Daniel Tencer
Thirteen percent of Germans would welcome the arrival of a new "Fuhrer," a new study suggests in what may be the most striking example yet of the rise of right-wing extremism in Europe today.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, more than a third of Germans feel the country is "overrun by foreigners," roughly 60 percent would "restrict the practice of Islam" and 17 percent believe Jews have "too much influence."
The Irish Times reports:
Researchers said a clear trend was visible: after almost a decade of decline, the survey indicates that views in favour of dictatorship, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are increasing in popularity. "In the past the base for extreme-right views in Germany, though present, was more latent in nature. Now these views are being expressed more frequently," said Oliver Decker, one of the authors of the study.
He suggested that the views in the survey were colored by the recent economic crisis, even though Germany is heading back to 3 per cent growth this year.
Coincidentally or not, the same week that the survey was released, Germany's center-right chancellor, Angela Merkel, declared that Germany's attempts to build a multicultural society have "absolutely failed."
"The approach of saying, 'Well, let's just go for a multicultural society, let's coexist and enjoy each other,' this very approach has failed, absolutely failed," Merkel said.
That leaves Germany's 4 million Muslims -- many of them Turks who first arrived as Gastarbeiter ("guest workers") -- wondering where they stand.
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3 comments:
I suspect that all nations would have similar numbers on things like immigration and "foreigners" etc.
I'd also suggest that the far left and the centre is just as guilty as the far right in this sort of rhetoric.
If you consider that in many parts of the world there is a belief that the 911 attacks were a government conspiracy (including some even here in Canada) you can conclude that xenophobia is rampant worldwide.
The problem is that if you question policy on immigration you may find yourself accused of racism right off the bat.
My understanding is that in german "Fuhrer" simply means leader--although it has acquired a lot of negative connotation--so depending on how the question was asked it may not be as bad as it sounds. Its certainly not synonymous with wanting a new "Hitler".
The 60% who would like to restrict the practices of Islam needs to be unpackaged a lot too to have much significance. I suspect that 90%+ of Canadians would support "restricting" the practice of Jehovahs Winess' to deny blood transfussions to their kids, and that is hardly evidence of rampant anti-JW sentiment. You really have to know what "practices" are being referred to before opining. Not saying there isn't anything there--in fact given polls conducted in other countries there probably is--I just need more information.
So, 30% of Americans want a lying, know-nothing, mean-spirited, quiting, yahoo as their President.
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