Category Archives: The far right

Naomi Seibt: ‘anti-Greta’ activist called white nationalist an inspiration

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German teenager spoke at an event at US rightwing conference CPAC

A young campaigner who has been hailed by climate sceptics as the right’s answer to Greta Thunberg has previously described a white nationalist who appeared to promote “white genocide” theories as one of her “inspirations”.

Naomi Seibt, a 19-year-old from Münster, Germany, who styles herself as a “climate realist”, has also had to deny she made remarks that could be seen as antisemitic following an attack on a synagogue last year.

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Auschwitz Memorial criticises Amazon for Hunters show and antisemitic books

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  • Prime show stars Al Pacino as head of band of Nazi hunters
  • Memorial wants books by Nazi Julius Streicher removed

The Auschwitz Memorial criticised Amazon on Sunday, for fictitious depictions of the Holocaust in its TV series Hunters and for selling books of Nazi propaganda.

Related: Outcry after MSNBC host compares Sanders’ Nevada win to Nazi invasion

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On Hanau’s streets, shocked migrants fear causes of the attack run deep

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Political pledges of action to deal with far-right terrorism are met with scepticism

Days after terror struck in the heart of its community, something like normality returned to the streets and cafes of Hanau yesterday. On Freigerichtstrasse on the eastern side of town, people once again gathered in one of the multifunction spaces that act as sports bars, betting shops and shisha stores, to have a smoke or a hot drink with friends.

“Am I scared? I guess it is scary,” said the Romanian woman who runs the venue. “But more importantly, would you like a cup of tea?”

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‘Who is there to protect us?’ Far-right murders in Hanau spark anger and fear

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Many in traditionally diverse area believe security apparatus is not tackling far right with full strength

As the people of Hanau rallied together in the wake of a deadly and racist assault on its community, there were not just whispers filled with fear but also cries for help and shouts of anger.

“We are going through a very difficult time,” said Hidir Karademir, 65, one of more than 5,000 who had gathered at the town’s market square, just streets away from the shisha bar where a racist gunman took the lives of nine people.

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Local and global factors fuelling far-right violence in Germany

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Migration, lax security and foreign attacks contributing to Hanau-like terrorism

The deadly terrorist shooting in the German town of Hanau represents the latest in a string of far-right attacks and plots in what has long been considered one of Europe’s most stable countries.

The murderous actions of the gunman, identified in the German media as Tobias Rathjen, came only days after a dozen German men were arrested for allegedly plotting armed attacks on mosques around the country.

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Hanau attack reveals ‘poison’ of racism in Germany, says Merkel

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Gunman who posted manifesto online kills nine at shisha bars before shooting himself

Angela Merkel has said the murder of nine people in a shooting rampage by a suspected rightwing extremist has revealed the “poison” of racism and hate in Germany.

The man, identified as Tobias Rathjen, 43, carried out attacks at two shisha bars in Hanau, a commuter town near Frankfurt, before killing his mother, bringing the death toll to 10, and then himself, police said.

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Germany attack: gunman acted on rightwing, racist motives, says Merkel – video

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Chancellor says the circumstances of the attacks in Hanau need to be fully investigated but the shootings have exposed the ‘poison’ of racism in German society. She pledges to stand up against those who ‘seek to divide the country’. Nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at two shisha bars. He then killed his mother and himself at home, police say

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German shisha bar attacks: what we know so far – video report

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A man has killed nine people after opening fire at two shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt. He then shot himself and his 72-year-old mother at home, according to police. Investigators believe a racist motive was behind the attack and some of those killed had Turkish backgrounds

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Salvini denies plan to visit Liverpool after mayor calls him fascist

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Steve Rotheram says far-right Italian politician is not welcome in the city

Italy’s far-right leader, Matteo Salvini, has denied he is going to Liverpool after the mayor of the city said “the only audience he’ll find here is one that won’t be shy in telling him what they think of fascists like him.”

The mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, said Salvini’s “division and hate” would not be welcomed in the city after reports Lega nel Mondo, a global network of the League established by Salvini in 2018, was holding an event in March.

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Does electing a leader with Jewish roots prove Jobbik has changed?

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Hungarian political party says it is no longer far right, but its shift should not be exaggerated

Hungary’s Jobbik was one of the farthest right parties in Europe. One of its MPs suggested drawing up a list of Hungary’s Jews, others had a history of racial hate speech, and the party was affiliated with the Hungarian Guard, a uniformed movement that on occasion terrorised Hungary’s Roma communities.

Recently, though, the party has a new message to voters: we’re not far right any more.

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Salvini’s failure brings respite for embattled Italian government

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Left’s win in Emilia-Romagna averts threat of snap elections but could prove a brief reprieve

Matteo Salvini’s failure to overturn decades of leftwing rule in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna will bring some respite to the embattled national government, staving off the risk of snap elections.

The leader of the far-right League campaigned vigorously across the region in his attempt to use elections on Sunday as a platform for his return to power. But a high turnout ensured the Democratic party (PD), which rules nationally alongside the Five Star Movement (M5S), maintained control.

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Salvini vows to ‘evict’ government if far right wins Italy regional polls

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League leader hopes to secure political comeback via votes in Emilia-Romagna and Calabria

The far-right Italian politician Matteo Salvini has threatened to “evict” the national government if his coalition triumphs in two regional elections.

Italian newspapers reported a “boom” in turnout – up 23% in the wealthy northern region of Emilia-Romagna and 10% in Calabria, in the south – by midday, as voters headed to the polls in elections that could precipitate a return to national power for Salvini’s League.

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Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group

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The white supremacist group the Base has been a target of FBI raids and its members accused of planning a race war. The Guardian can now reveal the identity of its secretive leader

The Guardian has learned the true identity of the leader and founder of the US-based neo-Nazi terror network the Base, which was recently the target of raids by the FBI after an investigation into domestic terrorism uncovered their plans to start a race war.

Members of the group stand accused of federal hate crimes, murder plots and firearms offenses, and have harbored international fugitives in recent months.

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Greenpeace included with neo-Nazis on UK counter-terror list

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Exclusive: Extinction Rebellion and Peta also named in anti-extremism briefing alongside Combat 18 and National Action

A counter-terrorism police document distributed to medical staff and teachers as part of anti-extremism briefings included Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups as well as neo-Nazis, the Guardian has learned.

The guide, produced by Counter Terrorism Policing, is used across England as part of training for Prevent, the anti-radicalisation scheme designed to catch those at risk of committing terrorist violence.

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‘Unqualified, dangerous’: the oddball officials running Bolsonaro’s Brazil

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While the far-right president has trashed norms the lower ranks of his administration have shown jaw-dropping offensiveness

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his gun-loving sons have hogged the headlines during his first year in power with their incendiary declarations, social media meltdowns and scandal-hit lives.

Endless column inches have also been devoted to the eccentricities and extremist ideas of his top lieutenants, including the foreign minister who insists climate change is a Marxist plot and the education minister who enjoys tweeting about his dog’s habit of defecating on Brazil’s top newspapers.

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German group with far-right ‘prepper’ links trains civilians for combat

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Former soldier behind group recorded saying he wants to build up infantry force

A network of elite German combatants with links to far-right “prepper” circles secretly trained civilians in “commando-like structures”, raising fears the group planned to build up a paramilitary fighting unit.

Drone footage filmed in June 2018 at a former barracks of the German armed forces in the southern town of Mosbach shows a group of around half a dozen men in military-style gear moving in formation across sandy terrain, holding what appear to be assault rifles in a firing position.

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Italian police uncover Nazi plot as 19 arrested and weapons seized

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Suspects allegedly wanted to create ‘openly pro-Nazi, xenophobic, antisemitic group’

Police in Italy say they have arrested 19 far-right extremists who wanted to form a new Nazi party.

In raids across the country, police discovered weapons, explosives, Nazi plaques featuring swastikas, Nazi flags and books on Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

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The Guardian view on Italy’s ‘Sardine’ movement: politics with panache can defeat the hard right | Editorial

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Spontaneous rallies opposing Matteo Salvini’s divisive rhetoric have captured imaginations. They offer a model that could be emulated elsewhere

For over a decade, the dominant theme in European politics has been the emergence of movements that seek to dramatise and exploit social divisions through crude and aggressive sloganeering. One of the trendsetters in this regard was the comedian Beppe Grillo, who in 2007 held an anti-establishment rally billed as “Vaffanculo Day” (Fuck-off Day). That mass protest in Bologna launched a populist wave in Italy, eventually leading to the rise of the anti-immigration politician Matteo Salvini, whose hard-right League party – currently out of government – is polling far ahead of its rivals.

Progressives have despaired at the apparent inability of centre-left politicians to find the vocabulary and imagination to challenge the divisive and often violent rhetoric of figures such as Salvini and Marine Le Pen. But help may be at hand, in the form of a burgeoning grassroots movement in Italy that takes the symbol of a fish as its inspiration. Appropriately, it began in Bologna.

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Hungary pulls out of Eurovision amid rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric

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No reason given for withdrawal from show, called ‘homosexual flotilla’ by pro-Orbán journalist

Hungary will not participate in next year’s Eurovision song contest, amid speculation the decision was taken because the competition is “too gay” for the taste of the country’s far-right government and public media bosses.

While no official reason has been given for the withdrawal, the move comes amid an increase in homophobic rhetoric in Hungary, where the anti-migration prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has launched a “family first” policy aimed at helping traditional families and boosting birth rates.

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Spain’s far-right Vox blocks violence against women declaration

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Vox refusal to sign joint all-party statement outrages civil rights groups and embarrasses allies

Spain’s far-right Vox party has refused to sign an all-party declaration condemning violence against women, drawing outrage from civil rights groups and embarrassing its allies in the conservative People’s party.

Vox’s refusal to sign the declaration by Madrid city council on Monday meant that for the first time since a landmark 2004 law on gender violence, local authorities in the Spanish capital were unable to issue a joint all-party statement.

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