Europe's Indentitarian Movement — old fascism in new clothes

On Wednesday (28 August), German broadcaster RTL screened coverage obtained through investigative documentation into one of Europe’s growing and popular rightwing extremist movements, the Identitarian movement.

The Identitarian movement has become the main representative of what has been called the 'New Right'. The term New Right was originally coined in France to describe a reaction against the leftwing student protests of the 1960s, and has now evolved into a rightwing movement that aims to connect far-right extremism with democratic legitimacy.

Most political parties from France’s National Rally to the Alternative for Germany and the Freedom Party of Austria can be seen as part of the New Right, an attempt to sell old fascist parties in new clothes, to pretend a break with the Nazi ideology and the embrace of democratic values.

While those parties have become successful players in the parliamentary arena — with some of them even participating in local and national governments — the Identitarian Movement has become the main operator on the street, far away from official statements made in the public.

For them, immigration from Africa to Europe is a “great migration, the exodus, and the 'Great Replacement.' They have been pushing for years, becoming more palatable and even recognised, so that far-right political parties could pick up their supporters, once the first wave of scandals is over and rightwing positions have become normalized.

But to believe that these fascist tendencies are done is a wishful thinking.

Sometimes, they lurk behind well-versed statements and come to the forefront. While it helps the Identitarian movement not to operate as a public body anymore but rather as a loose social movement, its most famous spokesperson, the Austrian Martin Sellner, had to go through legal proceedings after having received funds from the perpetrator of the New Zealand Christchurch attack on two mosques that killed 51 Muslims.

And now it's happened again happened — with the investigative piece broadcast by RTL Germany, where the genocidal ideas of the far-right are being exposed.

The group of journalists from Germany traveled throughout Germany and Austria, where it met with activists from the Identitarian movement including some with official positions in political parties such as the Alternative for Germany. In private conversations, they would be much more open than in the general public.

Holocaust-denial and neo-Nazi symbols

The RTL broadcast undercover footage from a party in Vienna where individuals made extreme and hateful statements, including Holocaust denial, glorification of genocide, and references to neo-Nazi symbols. 

One visitor made remarks about the Holocaust, stating: “It wasn't six million Jews. At most, 175,000 Jews were gassed. I think it's great that it happened, to be honest.”

The participant continued: “Germany needs a Srebrenica 2.0,” meaning a genocide of Muslims, adding “1995 was Srebrenica, the genocide of Muslims. That was very cool.” During the war in ex-Yugoslavia in 1995, about 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in a massacre in Srebrenica. The International Court of Justice classified the massacre as genocide in 2007, and the UN introduced an official remembrance day for the genocide only this year.

Another participant at the party commented on the number of victims: “8888 victims, supposedly. It would be cool if there were that many.”

The number 88 is a known far-right code, referring to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, which serves as an abbreviation for the Hitler salute of “Heil Hitler.”

Old fascism in new clothes

What could be witnessed during these undercover gatherings is a confirmation of the worst scenario of how to view the Identitarian movement: old fascism in new clothes.

But why is this even relevant? Martin Sellner, the unofficial spokesperson of the Identitarian movement, is not only leading the far-right on the streets. He is also well connected with those of the far-right seeking power.

Another investigation in the autumn of 2023 showed that Sellner was the main speaker of a closed meeting discussing what he called “remigration,” the deportation of people of coluor with German citizenship through legal means.

Make their lives unbearable by putting pressure of assimilation was his main idea. The former head of Germany’s intelligence service was supposed to work out the details.

The revelations of that meeting led to millions of Germans pouring out onto the streets to protest the far-right. Meanwhile, befriended parties like the Freedom Party of Austria have openly called for a European Commissioner for Remigration, which is just one example of what becomes palatable following a first shock.

Party leaders of the New Right, such as Herbert Kickl, whose FPÖ is currently leading in the polls after having won the elections for the European Parliament in Austria, is openly calling the Identitarian movement an “interesting project to be supported,” comparing it to Greenpeace, but “right.”