The biggest subject in German commentary pages on Wednesday is the increasing growth of far-right parties and the nation's growing numbers of Islamic extremists. Both were highlighted by Interior Minister Otto Schily during a report summing up the nation's intelligence service findings for 2004 on Tuesday. During the presentation, Schily said the number of extremists with neo-Nazi proclivities had risen more than 25 percent between 2003 and 2004, from 3,000 members to 3,800. Stunningly, these people still consider themselves "fighters for the 'German Reich' which contains no foreigners or Jews and is led by a Fuehrer," the report said. Security agents estimate that the nation has a total of 10,000 far-right extremists who are prone to violence. He also said that security agents are increasingly finding closer links between neo-Nazi supporters and the National Democratic Party (NPD), a far-right political party that won nine percent of the vote last September in the eastern state of Saxony. Still, Schily insisted, the real threat for Germany is in the growing numbers of people who belong to Islamic organizations, which now totals 31,800. He also noted that the administration engaged in 171 terrorist-related investigations in 2004. The problem, say Schily's critics, is that almost none of these people have a history of violence. Of them, perhaps 1,000 are potentially dangerous.

The Berliner Zeitung is particularly critical, insisting that it is not at all surprised that Schily is more worried about terrorism from outsiders than hatred grown at home. "Now that he is fighting hard for the implementation of anti-terror laws, it is only logical that the interior minister would rather paint the dangers of bearded Islamists with bombs on their belts than of shaven-headed combat-boot wearers." Still, insists the paper, "the greatest, long-term danger for our democracy is from the hidden right-wingers." It insists that the nation has to be careful not to play up the Islamic card while allowing the right-wingers to grow "in the shadows."

The Financial Times Deutschland holds the opposite opinion, although it admits the far right is getting increasingly annoying, particularly after last weekend's spam-attack, in which hundreds of thousands of inboxes were inundated with right wing propaganda. And the increasing number of attacks they have committed, it admits, is worrying. Still, it says, their real power is marginal, particularly on a legislative level. While the NPD did make tremendous headway last year in Saxony, the panic that they could repeat that success all over Germany is unfounded. "In parliament, the NPD will mainly be relegated to an ugly provincial episode."

For Die Welt, Schily's statement "contains a realistic message." But it's a message that fits the paper's own ideological leanings, namely that "it's not just terrorism alone that is a threat, but the extremism upon which terror can thrive." Letting foreigners live side by side with Germans without forcing them to integrate is, it indicates, dangerous. "For a long time now 'parallel societies' have not only been offering parallel food and dance, but also public areas free of the German language, laws and police. This is where the spiritual schools of jihad are thriving." Quite a dicey argument, even for the right-leaning paper. The paper ends its odd commentary with a platitude right out of the Tom Ridge handbook, saying, "Who has the courage not to mistake religious tolerance for political indifference? Perhaps only those who -- in the face of threats -- learn to appreciate their values."

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung focuses on Schily and his fuzzy math skills and game of connect the dots. "Three million Muslims live in Germany and only one percent of them -- about 31,800 belong to extremist organizations, according to the internal security report. That is not very many. Approximately 71,500 Germans belong to extremist groups, which is 0,1 percent of the population." The question, asks the paper, "is what is extremist behavior?" For instance, that young Muslim girls are often withdrawn from sports classes is "regrettable, but not a sign of extremism." What is extremist, however, are the hate mongers who push children to view their German schoolmates as immoral sinners. These, says the paper, are the sort of people who need to be stopped. Such crackdowns could show the agitators, "that Germany is no longer an open field for business."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung sits a bit on both fences. One the one hand, it is skeptical of Schily's belief that "the main threat to democratic order comes from others." It, too, points out that the number of extremists in Germany is "small." Still, it says, "thirty thousand are enough to give those determined terrorists a place of refuge or even support in their activities. And the 171 Islamist-terrorist-related investigations offer a warning signal."

Germany STILL Wants a UN Security Council Seat

Germany wants a UN Security Council seat and it wants it bad. Every time the subject comes up, it hits a nerve. On Wednesday, with Germany, India, Japan and Brazil, all officially kicking off their bid to get a seat, all eyes were on New York. A decision won't likely come until summer, but already, commentators are bristling for Germany to get what they view as its rightful place on the world body.

"For years, German foreign policy took a back seat to the policies of other nations, particularly those of America, Britain and France," writes the business daily Handelsblatt. Now, it says that time is over, and offers three reasons why. "First of all, the UN needs to be reformed to reflect the fact that the world has changed. That includes, among other things, the expansion of the Security Council, which today still reflects the world of 1945." Secondly, the paper says, the Germans have proved that they understand that confrontation is sometimes necessary to solve diplomatic problems. "For other nations this has been long clear. But because after World War II, Germany found itself in a special role that required absolute military restraint, we had to learn this lesson step by step." Now, the paper says, the lesson is learned, not only in terms of being ready with military assistance, but also in terms of diplomatic negotiating skills. Thirdly, it says, "the world's view of Germany has changed...Sixty years after the end of the war, Germany no longer has to cower. Rather, the nation's ability to work with its historical guilt has become a model to others." The truth of the matter is, the editorial implies, Germany not only wants to deliver like a big player, it wants to be treated like one, too. "A nation that pays so many UN bills and sends thousands of troops to support UN missions...naturally wants a voice in deciding where and when the blue-helmeted troops are stationed."