PARIS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Denmark's far-right anti-immigrant party has drawn new support from voters angry about the row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, but other extreme right-wing parties in Europe failed to capitalise on the dispute.
The backlash against protests by Muslims offended by European newspapers printing caricatures of the Prophet has prompted suggestions that Europeans will boost the cause of parties campaigning to keep immigrants out.
But the far-right's failure to get its message across, competition among rival right-wing parties for votes and sympathy for Muslim sensibilities has so far limited its ability to profit from the row in Europe, analysts say.
"It is logical that the far-right would profit from it, but I don't think it's as straightforward as that," said Paul Bacot, a political scientist at the Sciences Po institute in the French city of Lyon.
In Denmark, where the cartoons were first printed, a new survey this week showed the far-right Danish People's Party had gained 3.6 percentage points compared to a similar poll a month before and would win nearly 18 percent of votes.
"Many Danes are worried that too many immigrants will create clash of cultures that we cannot handle," said Danish political commentator Ralf Pittelkow.
LOOK OUT LE PEN
In France, where National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen made it to the final run-off in the 2002 election, the far-right has yet to show any gains.
Le Pen has kept a relatively low profile on the issue, issuing one short statement about the cartoons and making just one, late-night appearance on television.
Analysts say Le Pen's party faces stiff competition for votes from Philippe de Villier's Movement for France party and from the tougher immigration rhetoric of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the ruling conservative UMP party.
"They can't just do nothing. They have to have to be dynamic to be able to profit from it and I'm not sure if they can do that," said Bacot.
In Germany, the far-right parties, which play a marginal role in politics, have not secured significant media coverage for their reactions to the cartoons.
In Switzerland, a poll by a tabloid newspaper found more than half of the Swiss thought it was wrong to publish the cartoons although the survey showed a quarter consider Muslims a threat to their country -- more than in a similar poll in 2004.
ITALIAN T-SHIRTS
Analysts say it may still be too early to pinpoint the fallout from the cartoons, particularly since concern about Islam was on the rise in Europe before the latest dispute.
Italy's Northern League Party, a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition government, has seized on the row to fuel its political agenda ahead of the April election. It printed T-shirts emblazoned with the cartoons despite appeals from Berlusconi for a moderate stance.
Latest opinion polls say the party's support has increased but it is not clear what part the increased rhetoric has played.
"It's too early to be sure, but I think one of the lasting consequences will be ... much less tolerance of extremist Islam, much less belief in multi-culturalism. This was a trend even before the cartoons," said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform.
The Dutch have been grappling with issues concerning freedom of speech and criticism of Islam since the murder of director Theo van Gogh in 2004 by a self-confessed Islamist militant over his film that criticised the treatment of Muslim women.
After the cartoons, Philip van Praag, political science professor at Amsterdam University said he saw a more likelihood that centre-right parties would try to gain from anti-immigrant and nationalist support ahead of elections next year.
(Additional reporting by reporters in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Zurich, Berlin and Rome)
