Most European nations have one or more far right political movements. While they have some degree of connections with each other, nationalism is usually one of their primary issues and there is not any sort of an EU wide movement. Being anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim are also common threads. People seen as immigrants who pose a threat to national cultures are often seen as people from outside of Europe, but there is also resistance in Western Europe to people from the newer EU members in Eastern Europe. The group that has probably gotten to most media coverage in the US is the Front National in France.
Germany is of course the nation with the darkest past given its history of the Nazi regime. It is historically the defining standard of right wing fascism. There have been small groups there that are commonly referred to as neo-Nazis for sometime. The general public and the German government have been inclined to dismiss them as lunatic fringe. However, recently the Pegida movement has been showing an alarming growth in support.
Record 17,000 join 'Pinstripe Nazi' anti-Islam march in Germany Many in Berlin shocked by emergence of far-right anti-Islamist group Pegida as growing numbers join weekly Dresden protest
A record 17,000 people have joined the latest in a string of demonstrations against Islam in Dresden, eastern Germany, celebrating the rise of their far-right populist movement by singing Christmas carols.
The march on Monday night was organised by Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West – a group that has grown rapidly since its first protest in October.
Politicians from all major parties have been stunned by the emergence of the right-wing nationalists who vent their anger against what they consider a broken immigration and asylum system.
It appears that there is sufficient increase in the strength of this movement for the government to begin taking it seriously and mounting a campaign of public opposition.
Merkel to Attack Anti-Immigrant Movement in Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will use her New Year’s speech to make her most direct plea yet to Germans to stay away from the recent protests against a supposed “Islamization” of Europe. Ms. Merkel warned that the organizers of such protests often intended them to whip up hatred against nonwhites or non-Christians.
Ms. Merkel has spoken on the issue before, saying that there is no place in Germany for prejudice and lies and warning citizens not to let themselves be used by the protest organizers.
But her New Year’s appeal is much clearer, and comes from someone who grew up in East Germany and can remember the Monday marches that helped topple the Berlin Wall in 1989.
“Today, some people are again shouting on Mondays, ‘Wir sind das Volk!’ ” Ms. Merkel says, according to the text of her remarks released by the government. “But what they really mean is, ‘You don’t belong, because of the color of your skin, or your religion.’ That’s why I say to all who go to such demonstrations: Don’t follow those who call for this! Too often, there is prejudice, coldness or even hatred in their hearts.”
Germany has had a policy of actively recruiting skilled immigrants to fill vacancies in its workforce. Unlike other EU nations with more troubled economies, immigration doesn't seem to be an issue about competition for employment. It takes on the tone of cultural and racial issues. Germany has long had a sizable community of Turkish immigrants. They have at times been in conflict with German legal and cultural traditions. Similar debates have taken place in other nations such as France, the UK and Sweden. I am not sure if the right wing movement is more extensive in Germany than it is in those other countries, but none of them have spectra of German history looking over their shoulders.