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DE RUEHRL #0126/01 0221539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221539Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6743
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

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 
 
BERLIN 00000126  002 OF 003 
 
 
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, 
 
BERLIN 00000126  003 OF 003 
 
 
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