The political center in Germany sees right-wing extremism as the biggest threat, even more so than climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, and social division. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e. V. (FES) has been conducting the Mitte-Study every two years since 2006, examining the attitudes of the middle of society in Germany, including right-wing and anti-democratic attitudes. According to the latest study, which was conducted in collaboration with Andreas Zick, a violence researcher at the University of Bielefeld, survey participants currently view right-wing extremism as the greatest threat to society. The study’s authors attribute this to the attacks by right-wing extremists that have shaken the middle of society in recent years.
The study also found that during the Covid-19 pandemic, hate crimes have changed significantly. At the beginning of the pandemic, anti-Asian prejudices were observed, followed by the Corona protests and new protest movements that were accompanied by racist attacks, such as Black Lives Matter. While almost three-quarters of the participants claimed to be convinced democrats, the researchers found contradictory statements regarding democratic issues in their responses. Nevertheless, a majority (66%) of people in Germany want more commitment to an open and diverse society.
Despite recognizing right-wing extremism as a threat and positioning themselves democratically, the middle of society is still confronted with a new anti-democratic populism that has become a gateway to right-wing extremism. Such attitudes are expressed, for example, in the belief that democracy leads to lazy compromises rather than sound decisions. While right-wing populist attitudes have declined slightly compared to the previous FES-Mitte-Study, an elitist attitude is still prevalent among many people, often leading to the devaluation of social minorities such as foreigners, homeless people, and long-term unemployed individuals. The study found that 25% of Germans have strong prejudices against people who have been unemployed for a long time, while around 10% of survey participants devalue people without homes.
