Dhe international newspapers are concerned about the assassination attempt in Hanau. It coincides with the crack in the bulwark against the extreme right parties in Thuringia, writes “El Periódico” from Spain. The Italian “La Repubblica” even states that “Germany is frightening again”.
The Swiss “NZZ”, however, insists on differentiating between right-wing demagogy and right-wing terrorism, similar to left-wing terrorism. The British “Guardian” also sees turbulent times ahead for Germany because of Angela Merkel’s farewell and warns of maintaining the barrier belt against the extreme right-wing parties.
“El Periódico”, Spain: Attacks are no longer an isolated case in Germany
“The worst thing about the attack is that it is not an isolated case. Germany, whose chancellor Angela Merkel was exemplary in the migration crisis of 2015, lives in turbulent times with the increase in neo-Nazi groups and the election gains of the ultra-right alternative for Germany (AfD). The phenomenon is not new, but it has worsened recently. …
The wave of attacks condemned by Merkel with the sentence ‘Racism is poison, hate is poison, and this poison exists in our society’ coincides with the crack in the Cordon sanitaire (barrier belt) in Thuringia, which right-wing parties in Germany always oppose who had maintained extreme rights. “
“La Repubblica”, Italy: “The Monster Wakes Up”
“The monster wakes up and Germany scares us again. It scares us even more because it looks like us. His social illness is ours. …
The connection to the European Union and thus to a supranational structure, which should avert all efforts of reunified Germany towards great power, is fueling the resurgence of aggressive nationalism in a torn society that feels threatened in its well-being.
This is exactly what Angela Merkel was afraid of when she described the interaction between her party, the CDU, and the Liberals in Thuringia and the anti-European xenophobia of the alternative for Germany as “unforgivable”. But the chancellor’s revocation of the cooperation has not prevented parts of the German Christian Democrats from further succumbing to the temptation to engage in dialogue with the extreme right, as has already happened in Italy and Austria. Germany is now dismayed before the massacre in Hanau’s shisha bars. And we hope that it is not too late. “
“NZZ”, Switzerland: Differentiate between terrorists and populists
“However, the defensive democracy can differentiate between right-wing demagogy in the style of Björn Höcke and right-wing terrorism like in Hanau, Halle or Kassel. It could in the 1970s, when a reasonable majority did not equate leftist terrorism with leftist extremism. The foundation was laid to isolate the perpetrators of the Red Army faction and to destroy leftist terrorism.
Perhaps that is the greatest virtue of the rule of law: that it defines borders where others blur them for the purpose of propaganda. Today Germany will also be smart enough not to lump everything out of an understandable outrage – terrorists and populists. ”
“The Guardian”, Great Britain: Merkel’s farewell will mean turbulence
“One of the key questions of our time is to what extent the extent of the resurrection of nationalism has fueled and legitimized right-wing extremism and deadly racial hatred. The matter is complicated. In a way similar to Ukip (the right-wing populist party), the AfD had started out as a primarily Eurosceptic party.
But since the migration crisis of 2015, it has turned into a broader movement with strong elements that consciously fuel Islamophobia and racism. … Angela Merkel’s impending farewell to the stage means that a period of political turmoil is inevitable. But while the most successful post-war era party in Germany is thinking about its future political direction, Hanau’s events should make everyone think who wants to try to tame, involve, or imitate extreme right. The barrier belt to isolate the AfD and its like must be maintained. “
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“De Standaard”, Belgium: Germany seemed like the last Gallic village
“The fact that the government recognizes and names the problem – Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said that 75 years after the end of the Nazi dictatorship, right-wing terror is back – is a step forward. For a long time, German society acted as if it had banished the far-right monster. The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) was founded in the 1960s, but never made the breakthrough. And while the far-right parties grew rapidly in the rest of Europe, Germany seemed to be the last Gallic village to hold out. The Germans definitely seemed to have learned their lesson. Or did they just stick their heads in the sand like an ostrich? …
Although a large majority of Germans are radical against right-wing extremist ideas – ‘We are more’, they say – the AfD posted considerable election successes in the new federal states last year. In the meantime, the party was completely taken over by people who can hardly hide their sympathy for the Nazi party.
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“De Morgen”, Belgium: Germans speak of “new style terrorists”
“According to experts, the perpetrators of violence are often people who radicalize themselves online without being aware of their surroundings. In this context, the Germans speak of “new-style terrorists” who are not part of an organization known to the authorities, but operate anonymously. The man who shot the CDU politician Walter Lübcke, however, had contacts with neo-Nazi organizations. One of these clubs, Combat 18 (the number refers to the initials of Adolf Hitler), was recently banned. ”
“NRC Handelsblad”, the Netherlands: Hostility in the middle of society
“It is ironic that politicians of the right-wing AfD like to argue themselves that their party has arrived ‘in the middle of society’. They mean it positively and mean that their followers come from broad circles of the population. But parallel to the rise of the AfD, hostility towards people with a migration background is becoming less and less taboo in German society. This is particularly evident in a bluntly hateful language – on the Internet and at political meetings. “
“El Mundo”, Spain: Hanau attack is the result of populism
“After two world wars and the bloody experiences of the Jewish Holocaust and the Soviet Gulag, which were caused by the most destructive utopian projects of the 20th century – National Socialism and Communism – it was believed that Europe was finally vaccinated against lust for war. The deep economic crisis … and the resulting mistrust of citizens about community institutions that have proven unable to deal with the consequences have flared up the intolerant attitudes fueled by hate speech by nationalism, racism and xenophobia.
The two shootings, which killed eleven people in the German city of Hanau on Wednesday evening, are the tragic consequence of the Europe-wide awakening of populism and the extreme right, which are increasingly supported by European voters. ”
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“Tages-Anzeiger”, Switzerland: Racist agitation in society more visible than ever before
“But the danger has also increased because racist agitation is more widespread and more visible in society today than probably ever before since the Federal Republic was founded. Immigrants, especially Muslims, are threatened thousands of times with deportation, violence or death on the Internet. With Pegida in Dresden, with the New Right, with the so-called Imperial Citizens and also with some politicians of the alternative for Germany, racist slogans are heard week after week that sound no less aggressive and inhumane than those of the right-wing terrorist of Hanau. …
Grasping the potential terrorists and getting a grip on the violent scenes is therefore not enough. The authorities must also take more action against hate speech and attacks on the Internet and on the street, if necessary with stricter laws. However, the danger that the increasingly uninhibited hatred of ‘strangers’ will gradually poison the community can only be countered by German society as a whole. It is high time for an uprising of the cosmopolitan majority. “
“Al-Jazeera”, Qatar: Top story if the perpetrator had been a Muslim
“A fatal attack by a far-right gunman in the German city of Hanau has sent shock waves around the world. Despite strong reactions from political leaders, including Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, some users on social networks point out that the answer to this story has been somewhat subdued. She would have gotten more attention if the attacker had been a Muslim. US President Donald Trump, who otherwise quickly condemns attacks by people with a Muslim background, has not yet commented on the incident. “
“The Times”, Great Britain: Extreme rights long underestimated
“The German Ministry of the Interior estimates that there are now 12,700 right-wing extremists with a propensity to violence in the country. That alone would be a big challenge. But two factors make things even more difficult. The first is that various strands of the far right seem to intersect on the Internet and that loners can easily find an arsenal of contacts, instructions for weapons, and racist doctrines.
The second is that Germany’s security apparatus has been focused for many years on the threat posed by Islamist terrorism. Critics argue that for a long time he reacted too complacently – or even deliberately blind – to the emergence of flexible, heterogeneous and internationalized extreme rights and therefore failed to provide adequate resources to monitor them. ”
“His name was Tobias, he was 43 and studied management. Behind the smooth image of this apparently good German in every respect was an openly racist man, a follower of conspiracy theories. Tobias R. went from ideology to practice and murdered nine people for racist reasons (…). Islamism on the one hand, belief in the predominance of whites on the other … There is no hierarchy in the terror of a terrorist attack (…). “
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