Expert Conference on Civic Education
„Right Wing Extremism in Europe“
April 28./29. 2010 in Bergisch Gladbach
Documentation
Conclusion and perspectives
Tristana Moore, free-lance correspondent BBC und Time Magazine, Berlin
Ladies and Gentlemen,
first of all I would like to apologise to those of you who don’t speak German, but I was asked to deliver this
speech in German because unfortunately we don’t have the interpreter today. However, I shall try to
summarise some sections in English as well. First of all, I would like to thank the Federal Agency for Civic
Education and especially Cornelia Schmitz who organised this conference and invited so many interesting
people from all over Europe. At the beginning of the conference, Suzette Bronkhorst from the International
Network against Cyber Hate in Amsterdam gave a comprehensive and fascinating overview of how far-right
groups are increasingly radicalising mainstream society and gaining a firm foothold in regional and national
parliaments across Europe – from Jobbik in Hungary to Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. But, as we learnt,
although racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism have been around for a long time, the response of society is
different now. In the post 9-11 and war on terror climate, populist far-right parties are exploiting public fears
and prejudices about the influx of immigrants, rising unemployment or crime. Today, there is more public
acceptance of racism.
Suzette Bronkhorst spoke of the importance of education as being the key to combating prejudices and
racism in society. This was a topic which recurred throughout the conference. Time and time again, I heard
stories from participants who run important anti-racism projects teaching children, young people and adults
to be aware of the dangers of rightwing extremism. Suzette also pointed out that there are often there are
many victims who are still afraid to speak their minds, come forward and talk about their experiences. And I
heard many accounts of how mainstream political parties are shifting to the right and adopting policies which
you would normally associate with rightwing extremism. In the future, as the EU expands, there is a danger
that there will be more public unease over national identity.
Then we had a fascinating discussion about the far-right scene in Italy, Sweden and Hungary. I was
surprised to hear of the extent to which xenophobia and anti-semitism are embedded in mainstream Italian
society and how under Silvio Berlusconi, there has been a noticeable shift to the right. Professor Mattioli
described the growing number of violent attacks against immigrants in Italy, he gave a very detailed account
of how powerful the Northern League has become, displaying the party’s election leaflets and explained how
its xenophobic platform is condoned (even encouraged) by Berlusconi. The outlook for the future is pretty
grim, according to Mattioli. Italy, he said was today “on the road to totalitarianism.”
The only glimmer of hope was to be found in Lisa Bjurwald’s description of the far-right scene in Sweden,
where she said that extreme rightwing groups were still marginalized. But, in a worrying development, there
is a strong undercurrent of Islamophobia in Sweden and there is little public debate or self-reflection, she
said.
Then we had the different workshops – and I will only mention a few which I visited. Again they provided a
fascinating insight into the far-right scene in Europe and a description of the practical steps which are being
taken to combat rightwing extremism.
I was taken aback to hear of the wide range of websites which far-right groups use to spread their message,
organise demonstrations and target young people - ranging from videos on YouTube, to social networks like
Facebook and Neo-Nazi online shopping catalogues – and how all these networks interact with other farright organisations across Europe. It was interesting to hear about the challenges which anti-Nazi and antiracism groups face when trying to shut down far-right websites which overstep the mark. Again, the key
message here was education. The priority is to make the public – and users - aware of the power of the
internet and how it can be exploited by extremist groups. In another workshop, I heard about how far-right
groups use music to spread their message and earn money and I heard about the important work that is
being carried out by anti-racist networks in Austria which organise workshops and theatre projects for schoolchildren and teach youngsters to be aware of racism and intolerance in society. These are practical
measures which are very effective. And the parallels and comparisons which participants drew from their
own experiences in different countries were very interesting. For example, one person said Germans were
more open to a public debate about the threat of rightwing extremism, while in Austria it is still considered a
taboo subject. Finally, I also attended the workshop which came up with a novel idea and organised a
“citizens’ meeting” to vote on whether a far-right group should have a militia, along the lines of developments
in Hungary. The participants were divided into different groups – for example a liberal and conservative group
– and were asked to make a statement outlining their verdict on the militia.
In the “Get in Contact” session, there was a great opportunity for people to network, to provide information
about anti-racism and anti-discrimination projects in different countries and compare experiences. To give
just a few examples, there was the National Campaign against Racism in Italy which brought together many
NGOs. Here one of the campaigners spoke of an “emergency situation” in Italy and described the valuable
work which the group carries out as well as the simple slogans used, like “don’t be afraid, open yourself to
others,” to get the message across. Or the Romedia Foundation in Hungary which is seeking to rebuild the
ruined homes of Roma people amid a very tense atmosphere after a spate of attacks against Roma families.
There was a stark reminder of how dangerous the situation has become when the representative from the
Romedia Foundation said it was “very difficult to declare yourself as a Roma in Hungary.” And, just to
mention a few other groups - the campaign against homophobia in Poland, battling to raise public awareness
of homophobia and put it high on the political agenda, and the “Netz Gegen Nazis” (”Network against
Nazis”), in Germany, which is a website aimed at raising awareness of the threat of rightwing extremism.
When I spoke to people about the conference, there was a general consensus that it provided a unique
opportunity to share views and experiences with people from other countries. There were heated debates
about the power of the internet, the ban on the burqa and how mainstream political parties were shifting to
the right. I heard someone say “well I can understand banning the burqa – I mean everyone has to accept
the rules of each society.”
One delegate said he was “shocked” to hear about how much power far-right groups had in Hungary and
Italy and how mainstream parties and civic society were tolerating the growth of rightwing extremism.
Another delegate was critical. He said he was disappointed as there were very few representatives at the
conference with an immigrant background and he said these people would have made a valuable
contribution to the discussions, especially because the conference was about rightwing extremism and antiracism. Why were there no black people or Muslims at the conference, he asked. I mean it’s a bit like having
a conference about feminism and you don’t have any women there he provocatively said. And there was
another lively discussion about the extent of legal and state discrimination against immigrants.
There have been big electoral gains for racists and rightwing extremists across Europe over the past few
months. There was recently a comeback for Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front in the regional elections in
France, which were dominated by a debate over immigration. In Italy, there were big gains for the antiimmigration party, the Northern League. The anti-Islamic campaign of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands could
triple the number of seats of the Freedom party in June's election. And this month, there were big gains for
the far-right Jobbik party in Hungary. The party gained entry into parliament for the first time after winning
more than 16% of votes. Jobbik has risen by using Hungary’s deep economic crisis to revive traditional
scapegoating of Jewish and Roma communities for unemployment and poverty. And in Britain, all eyes are
on the British National Party, the BNP, which is hoping to win its first ever parliamentary seat in the general
election on May 6. The BNP has been exploiting voters’ fears of unemployment and the influx of immigrants.
The financial crisis and the resulting economic crisis have created a sense of victimhood and a need, it
seems, for parties that use nationalist rhetoric to criticise globalisation.
This conference has shown that the far-right is still a force to be reckoned with – the threat posed by
rightwing extremism should not be underestimated – and the main priority is to educate people and parties
while at the same time fostering a healthy public debate. As we have heard here, extremism has a habit of
preying on public fears and so long as those fears and prejudices exist, far-right groups will be able to
flourish.
It’s always a good sign of a successful conference when you hear delegates saying that they found the
discussions so lively and stimulating that they are now considering organising similar conferences in their
respective countries. This conference has indeed provided much food for thought.
Thank you.