Following a summer that has seen a number of right-wing attacks across Europe, a number of Danish experts have voiced concerns that right-wing extremism is not being adequately tackled in Denmark.
The experts indicated to Radio24syv that the politicians are more keen on focusing on Islamic radicalisation, such as the attack in Nice this summer, compared to acts of right-wing extremism, such as the murder of Labour politician Jo Cox in the UK in June.
“I think the government is overlooking right-wing extremism, and the general public’s focus on Islamic extremism means the phenomenon is exaggerated while the threat is under-exaggerated,” Kirstine Sinclair, an associate professor and Islamic extremism expert at the University of Southern Denmark, told Radio24syv.
Another expert suggested it was easier for the politicians and public to focus on Islamic extremism as the issue because it is a problem that “is foreign”.
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And that’s a problem, according to Søren Lerche, who teaches about extremism at Grundtvigs Højskole and who has himself been part of the radical left environment.
“The violent right-wing extremist threat is simmering so they should deal with it proactively,” said Lerche.
“We’ve seen right-wing extremist violence on the rise in our neighbouring nations, and PET has also said that Denmark should be aware. You can see it on various right-wing extremist Facebook pages where people are so angry and there is talk of civil war.”
For its part, the government has earmarked 6.9 million kroner over the next four years to helping people to exit radicalised environments.
However, the government recommends the exit program should focus on militant Islamic extremism and that “workers can’t be expected to handle all the -isms.”
