Germany: Right-wing extremism poses the greatest threat to democracy and security, number of followers has dramatically grown

Speaking together with BfV chief Thomas Haldenwang, Minister Faeser said Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine constitutes the breaking point for the country’s security, increasing the threat of cyber attacks, disinformation and espionage. “Right-wing extremism remains the greatest threat in Germany,” she said.

Germany has long considered the far right to be the democratic order’s biggest risk factor.The counter-intelligence service reported that 33,900 people were adherents of the radical right in 2021.

“The number of right-wing radicals willing to commit violence increased last year by 500 to 14,000 total,” the minister said. BfV director Haldenwang explained the sharp growth in the number of right-wing extremists as partially due to the fact that the BfV included members of Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is so populist as to be ultra-right, in its calculations.

The counter-intelligence service is following that party on suspicion of its involvement with right-wing extremism. Speaking on German public broadcaster ARD television, a co-chair of the party, Tino Chrupalla, objected to the accusation of right-wing extremism by saying the AfD program does not feature any radical points and does not cast doubt on the German state in the least.

Russia’s full-fledged invasion strengthening right-wing extremism in Germany

The annual report also states that the radical right scene is taking advantage of the essential subject matter of the day for its agitprop. After the COVID-19 pandemic, when such radicals cast doubt on the existence of the infection and the need for quarantine measures, the extreme right is currently focusing on the crisis in the cost of energy, high inflation, migration (even more emphatically), and Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.

Counter-intelligence considers the radicals’ exploitation of Russian aggression to also be a big security threat to Germany. “The criminal Russian offensive war against Ukraine has changed the security situation throughout Europe as a whole,” said Interior Minister Faeser.

“For Germany’s internal security, [the war] is the breaking point,” Faeser said. “We have taken significant measures to counter espionage, disinformation campaigns, and cyber attacks.”

BfV director Haldenwang said propaganda from Russia is focusing to a great extent on those members of the German population who are of Russian extraction, even though many are citizens of Germany. “Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin consider those groups of the population to be ‘their’ Russians,” he said, adding that Russian propaganda targets them through every possible channel.

A journalist at the press conference mentioned Czech President Petr Pavel, who said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that Russians living in western countries should be subjected to stricter monitoring by security forces than in the past. “We are following the persons who support Russian propaganda, who amplify it, or who react to it in a corresponding way,” Haldenwang replied when asked whether Germany is following the Russian community more closely.

According to Haldenwang, pro-Russian groups discuss Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine online in a way that defends and supports it. He noted that the extreme left is also taking advantage of the war for its own needs.

“[The ultra-left] sharply condemns the attack on Ukraine for the most part, but some on that scene ascribe responsibility for the aggression not just to Russia, but also to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United States, the West in general, and imperialism,” he said.

German counter-intelligence reports that in 2022 the ultra-left had 36,500 members, 10,800 of whom it considers prepared to perpetrate violence. Authorities considered 34,700 people to be adherents of the far left in 2021.

Minister Faeser said another danger is extremism among followers of Islam. “Germany still remains on the immediate spectrum of targets for Islamist terrorist organizations as well as isolated attackers motivated by Islamism. We must continue to prevent radical Islamists from gaining any room for maneuver in Germany,” she said.