EXTREME RIGHT ACTIVITY SURGES DESPITE GOVERNMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 000126

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: GM PGOV PHUM SOCI
SUBJECT: EXTREME RIGHT ACTIVITY SURGES DESPITE GOVERNMENT
AND CIVIC EFFORTS

REF: A. 06 BERLIN 2748


B. 06 HAMBURG 0054

C. 06 HAMBURG 0062

D. 05 LEIPZIG 0065


1. (SBU) Summary: Germans are growing increasingly concerned
about right-extremism. Although fears that neo-Nazis might
try to grab media attention during the World Cup last year
did not materialize, subsequent electoral gains by the
right-extremist National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) in
September 2006 coincided with an increase in criminal
activity by extreme nationalists of nearly 20 percent.
Together with widely publicized incidents involving assaults
by skinheads at campaign rallies and on public
transportation, the increased criminality has led to calls
for stepped up efforts to combat right-extremism. In
response the German government has enhanced already robust
measures, such as vigilant observation of far right groups
and funding of projects to counter right-extremists. Civic
organizations and the media have also encouraged projects and
protests against the extreme right. Increasingly frequent
calls for the prohibition of the NPD, however, indicate the
deep frustration of many German politicians with failure to
rein in right-extremists. End Summary.

Right-Extremist Acts Increase
--------------


2. (U) According to the Federal Criminal Office, the number
of right-extremist crimes increased nearly 20% in the first
11 months of 2006 compared to the same period a year ago.
This is the highest level in five years and represents an
increase of more than 50% over a two year period. (Note: The
number of right-extremist individuals under surveillance by
the government has remained fairly steady in recent years.)
In addition to so-called "propaganda" offenses (e.g., display
of banned materials) and desecration of Jewish cemeteries,
right-wing violence has increased and right-extremists appear
to be increasingly brazen. For example, right-extremists
attempted to intimidate voters and candidates in the run-up
to the September 17 Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
elections by forcibly disrupting campaign events of other
parties. Such intimidation tactics included attacks on other
parties' campaign workers.

Right-Extremist Attitudes Also a Concern
--------------


3. (U) Beyond the criminality described above, a significant
minority of the German population shares some attitudes that
many would find right-extremist. The
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) published an exhaustive study
in November 2006 entitled "From the Edge to the Center" on
the attitudes of 5,036 Germans which found significant
support for anti-Semitic, anti-democratic, and anti-foreigner
views. For example, nearly 18 percent agreed with the
statement that Jews exert too great an influence; 13.8
percent agreed that Jews (more than others) use unsavory
means to achieve their objectives; 11 percent agreed that
National Socialism had its good aspects; and 39.1 percent
agreed that Germany is dangerously overrun with foreign
influences stemming from immigrants. (Note: The 2006
statistics are roughly unchanged from prior polls in 2002 and
2004.)


4. (U) According to this study, extreme right attitudes are
found among Germans of a wide range of ages, educational
levels, party affiliation, and region. The study also
claimed that anti-foreigner attitudes were not limited to
members of extreme right parties, but were also held by
supporters of the major parties. For example, of respondents
who support the CDU, 25.6 percent in the western states and
28.1 in the eastern states held anti-foreigner views. This
conclusion tends to contradict the common perception that
such attitudes are found almost exclusively among young
unemployed easterners. Remarkably, the study also found that
some extreme right attitudes, such as anti-Semitism and
support for some aspects of Nazi governance, were actually
more prevalent among western respondents than eastern ones.
This finding suggests that right-extremism is not simply and
primarily a problem of the new federal states that will
disappear once these states overcome their economic and
social problems.

NPD's New Campaign Strategy Leads to Electoral Success
-------------- --------------


5. (U) The attitudes measured in the FES study might have

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contributed to the electoral success that the NPD has
recently enjoyed in eastern Germany. Most notably, the NPD
won seats in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament by
capturing 7.3% (59,845 votes) in the September 17, 2006
election, up from only 0.8% in 2002 (reftels A, B, and C.)
On the same day in Berlin, NPD candidates gained seats in
district assemblies, despite falling short of the 5%
threshold required to enter the Berlin state parliament.


6. (U) The NPD's electoral success is partly due to
widespread frustration in the eastern states over
unemployment rates that have exceeded 20 percent. The
party's specific recent successes, however, are also due to a
more calculated and effective campaign strategy than the
party has used in the past. For example, the NPD in 2004
reached a new agreement with another extreme right party, the
German People's Union (DVU),not to compete directly against
one another -- they have divided up Germany among themselves
for election purposes. This strategy minimizes splintering
of the right-extremist vote, improving each party's chance to
cross the percentage threshold required to gain seats in an
elected body. Also, networking among the state NPD groups
intensified as leaders of the Saxon NPD, such as Holger
Apfel, contributed the party's resources and campaign
expertise to the NPD campaign efforts in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.


7. (U) The NPD's electoral success is also the result of an
important development in the organization of right radicals.
After a wave of government bans of small neo-Nazi clubs in
the early 1990's, many right-extremists began to organize
themselves more loosely into "free comradeships." Because of
their nebulous organization, authorities have found it
difficult to monitor and ban such groups. A main goal of
these free comradeships is to recruit impressionable youth
into their circles through seemingly innocent activities such
as sports training, social events, and rock concerts. These
free comradeships, in recent years, have begun to form
networks. Moreover, the NPD has succeeded in uniting some
such free comradeships under its umbrella and can, therefore,
easily use this grassroots network in election campaigning.


8. (U) According to the national Law on Political Parties,
any political party that receives over 0.5 percent of the
popular vote in a federal election is eligible for federal
government financing. As a consequence of this law, the NPD
receives some federal funding. The far right also funds
their activities through membership fees, donations (which
account for more than half of their total revenue and include
mandatory partial refunds of salaries by elected
representatives, police report),and the sale of
right-extremist music CD's, clothes, and concert tickets.
The DVU is largely funded by its leader, Bavarian publisher
and multi-millionaire Gerhard Frey.

German Government Efforts to Control Right-Extremism
-------------- --------------


9. (U) The German government takes extremist activity in
Germany very seriously, often combating it using means that
would be considered overreaching in other democracies. For
example, the German Basic Law (constitution) has for many
years permitted the prohibition of political parties and
other extremist organizations whose activities "contravene
criminal laws or are directed against the constitutional
order or the concept of international understanding" as
described in Article 9(2) of the Basic Law. Using this legal
authority, federal and state governments have in the past
banned numerous extremist groups. The law also forbids the
use of propaganda of Nazi and other banned groups.
Additionally, federal and state Offices for the Protection of
the Constitution (OPC) monitor extremist organizations, both
by the collection of publicly available information and
intelligence gathering. Federal and state authorities have
also conducted raids against neo-Nazis and confiscated their
weapons. Courts have handed down strict sentences against
right-extremists in recent years.


10. (U) Under the general rubric of political education, the
federal government has supported 4,500 initiatives aimed at
combating right-extremism. These initiatives include mobile
advisory teams, support for victims of right-extremist
attacks, and educational and employment initiatives aimed at
steering impressionable youth away from right-extremism. The
current Grand Coalition federal government has recently
renewed the annual 19 million euro budget for such
anti-extremist educational programs, adding an extra 5
million euros for 2007. States also typically fund,

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organize, and run similar educational programs at their
level.


11. (U) Civic organizations are active in speaking out
against far-right activities as well. Labor unions, the
major religious groups, and some political parties organize
demonstrations and campaigns against neo-Nazi organizations.
Many such organizations run political education programs
aimed at building support for democracy and tolerance. As a
rule, extreme right events draw far more anti-extreme right
counter-demonstrators than actual participants. Editorial
opinion and reporting in the media is overwhelmingly critical
of the extreme right.

Should the NPD be Banned?
--------------


12. (U) Despite the significant resources dedicated by German
government and society, frustration over the increase in the
number and boldness of right-extremist activities has led
many politicians, including Vice Chancellor Franz
Muentefering, to call for the prohibition of the NPD. In
March 2003, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected a
proposed ban on the NPD because the federal government
refused to reveal the activities of its informants within the
NPD. For this reason, proposals for a ban are not likely to
succeed, at least in the short-term. At any rate, a ban
would do little to mitigate the attitudes described in the
FES study and voters could simply shift their support to
legal parties such as the DVU or Republikaner. Many,
including some prominent Jewish figures, have argued that a
ban would actually be counter-productive and that Germany
needs to face down the extreme right challenge in open debate.

Comment
--------------


13. (SBU) The German government is taking significant steps
to counter neo-Nazi activity and extreme right attitudes by
implementing and supporting well-funded anti-extremist
educational programs and aggressively monitoring extremist
groups, indicating that the German government has the will to
undertake robust measures to tackle this problem. Although
German democracy is not threatened, the recent sharp up-tick
in extreme right activity despite these significant efforts
suggests that the German government has not yet identified
the right mix of measures to contain and solve the problem.
TIMKEN JR