Old Tactics Resurface In Anti-Islam Protests

In September 1989, a popular movement against the communist government of the German Democratic Republic began with a few hundred people gathering in a small church square in Leipzig.

The weekly protests gathered momentum across East Germany and within six weeks an estimated 300,000 took part, many waving banners proclaiming "We Are The People!".

It was called the "quiet earthquake" which helped demolish the Berlin Wall and defrost the Cold War.

Now the same device of a weekly, after work, silent show of strength is being employed by another movement in Germany.

They call themselves Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of The West or PEGIDA and have seen their support mushroom in a matter of weeks .

The group has become a lightning rod for disaffection: from older voters who think Germany’s culture is being warped by immigration to shadowy far right agitators, an unpleasant reminder of Germany’s Nazi past.

On Monday night, across the country those attending anti-PEGIDA rallies in Cologne and Berlin far outnumbered their foes, but it does still present an uncomfortable political moment for the Teflon Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

She appealed for tolerance in her New Year’s message in uncharacteristically blunt terms, but the level of immigration is undoubtedly stretching resources in certain areas, especially in the east.

Some 200,000 asylum seekers came to Germany last year, up 80% on the previous year. That’s considerably more than any other EU country.

And while economically prudent Germans (and there are many) know that the country's ageing demographic means immigration is essential to restore growth, the spotlight has fallen on the typical kind of newcomer.

Many of the immigrants from outside the EU are fleeing the violence in Syria and are mostly young and Muslim. A recent poll suggests a third of Germans believe they are skewing the country's culture to Islam.

This should be kept in perspective: the ruling grand coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats is relatively sturdy, although the whipper-snapper Alternative For Germany party is starting to make an impact.

Also the demonstrations have not been marred by any of the violence and anger witnessed in Greece for example, but if PEGIDA continues to grow, there may have to be a policy response.

Asylum seekers could face higher hurdles before being given the right to reside in Germany, for example.

Of course Germany joins many other European countries trying to grapple with grassroots anger over their immigration policies.

Perhaps David Cameron will see this thread as a negotiating strategy when he tries to win German support in his bid to win concessions from the EU to sell in a referendum.