It almost seems like I am doing a series on this.
We’ve seen right-winged shifts in France, Britain, Sweden, Denmark and other European countries long touted as being some of the most righteous supporters of human rights and freedom, equality, and fraternity for all. We would’ve all thought years ago that these nations would be the last to take a right turn down the political spectrum. But what about the nation that seemed to be the most undemocratic and fascist in Europe coming out of the Second World War?
Well it seems a recent poll by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (a center-left organization) shows that Germany too is experiencing a shift, described by Peter Goodspeed of the National Post to be “The German right moves to the centre,” noting that ideologies that were considered to be rightist have now been considered to be moderate and common.
Taking just a few results from this poll:
– 14.9% of Germans believe the Jews use sinister tricks to achieve what they want more often than other people, with 24% agreeing partially.
– 58.4% agree that the practice of Islam should be considerably limited.
– 13.2% agree that Germany should have a new “fuhrer.”
The poll shows more and more the rise of rightist sentiments in Germany, some almost reverting back to Nazi Germany during the Second World War. If you read my previous articles you would’ve noticed that in Europe there is a shift of sociopolitical ideologies of the public to the right and that absurd notions such as restrictions on immigration and the restrictions on religious practices, particularly Islamic practices, are moving towards the mainstream. But to see it in France, one of the pioneers of modern democracy, and now in the former-fascist Germany, it sends a chill down one’s spine that something big may happen soon and it will not be pretty.
Of course the poll is not representative of all of the Germans in Germany, nor is there an absence of bias. Yet one has to ponder as the riots in France continue if Europe is going to change significantly in the next decade or so in terms of its social and political beliefs. And if that change happens, what will happen to European relationships with Canada, the United States, and the rest of the world? Who knows. Maybe these bubbling resentments will one day rupture into full-on warfare in this world.
Source: The National Post
