One in twelve people in Germany have far-right ideologies.
A group of scientists from the University of Bielefeld reached this conclusion after conducting a study on behalf of the “Friedrich Ebert” political foundation, close to the Social Democratic Party.
The survey, which has been conducted every two years since 2002, polled nearly 2,000 people aged 18 to 90 in January and February 2023.
From conducting the survey, it turned out that 8% of Germans have a clear orientation from the extreme right. In previous studies the percentage varied between 2% and 3%.
Of particular interest is the fact that between 5% and 7% in all age groups support the dictatorship, with only one strong party and one leader for Germany.
Francesca Schroeter, head of the project at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, explains that the growing sympathy for authoritarianism is due to recent major crises such as the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, the energy crisis and rising prices.
The study is titled “The Distanced Middle Class” and is led by social psychologist Andreas Tsik. He points out that extreme right-wing attitudes are more prevalent in the lower economic and social strata, as crises hit them more directly.
This attitude is accompanied by a decline in trust towards state institutions and the functioning of the Republic, even though a clear majority still supports this form of government.
However, 38% have conspiratorial attitudes, 33% populist and 29% ethno-authoritarian-revolutionary attitudes.
