Neo-Nazi party in Greece could enter Parliament

[Faqa]

Link

Fascist Salutes Return to Greece as Anti-Immigrants Chase Voters

Theodore Couloumbis experienced the Nazi occupation of Greece as a boy and 70 years later he’s worried he’ll witness the return of stiff-armed salutes and fascist flags.
The Golden Dawn party may enter the parliament in Athens for the first time after May 6 elections, current polls show, as rising anti-immigrant sentiment among austerity-hit Greeks spurs support for groups formerly on the political fringes. Ninety percent of people surveyed for a To Vima newspaper poll published on April 9 said immigrants are responsible for an increase in violence and crime.
“The last thing I would want to see in the Greek parliament is a bunch of people who give the Hitler salute,” said Couloumbis, 76, a professor of international relations at the University of Athens. “I’m old enough to remember the absolute ugliness of that particular occupation.”
The group is known for its violent clashes in immigrant neighborhoods and for a red and black party logo resembling a disentangled swastika. Members of the group have said it’s not Nazi or fascist and they reject any connection of its logo to a swastika, saying it’s an ancient Greek symbol. A video of Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos shows him giving the fascist salute.
Golden Dawn’s charter says its “main ideal and belief is the nation-tribe” and that “only men and women of Greek descent and consciousness should have full political rights.” Michaloliakos declined to comment for this story when called on his mobile phone.
Land Mines
The party wants land mines placed on the Greek-Turkish border to stop illegal immigrants entering the country and cancellation of Greek loan accords with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
It also calls for wiping out debt accumulated since 1974 that’s deemed “illegal and burdensome.” Greek banks that get state funds should be nationalized, as should all natural resources, the party’s program says.
Golden Dawn is bolstering support by organizing security patrols in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods and by running food banks for Greeks suffering from five years of recession and unemployment of almost 22 percent.
“I’m voting for Golden Dawn because I want all the immigrants to leave,” Maria Papageorgiou, 52, said in an interview in the Athens neighborhood where she has lived all her life. “There’s a high crime rate, it’s a miserable situation. They should leave and go back to their countries. Or maybe the Germans can take them.”
Euro Status
At stake in the election is whether the next Greek government can implement the austerity measures on which bailout funds and euro membership depend.
The Athens Stock Exchange has lost 61 percent of its value over the last two years. An index of Greek banks dropped 73 percent in the last 12 months. Greek government bonds maturing in February 2023 are yielding 20.55 percent compared with 18.28 percent on March 14, the day after the country’s credit rating was lifted out of the default category by Fitch Ratings following the agreement of a debt swap.
Polls show Golden Dawn winning as much as 5 percent of the vote, enough to enter parliament for the first time. The party, which was founded two decades ago, won its first seat on the Athens city council in 2010.
Golden Dawn’s rise comes as far-right or nationalist parties are surging in a number of European countries including Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands and France, where anti- immigrant National Front leader Marine Le Pen won 17.9 percent in the first round of presidential elections on April 22.
‘Lazy Thinking’
“Populist parties on the left and the right rely on fear,” Jan Techau, director of the Brussels-based European Center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in a phone interview. “They always gain when the economy is bad. But to just hope an improving economy will make them go away is lazy thinking.”
In Greece, Pasok and New Democracy, the two parties supporting the interim government of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos in implementing austerity measures in exchange for a second 130 billion euro ($172 billion) loan package, are trying to show their credentials in combating illegal immigration to stem the loss of votes to anti-foreigner parties.
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, whose party leads in opinion polls yet is short of a majority, also has to contend with a loss of votes to parties opposed to austerity measures.
Illegal Entry
Greece, with a population of 11 million, has an estimated 1 million immigrants, many of whom are illegal, the Greek government says. Police last year arrested 99,368 foreigners for being in or entering the country illegally, more than half of whom were from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Most want to travel to other EU countries where economic prospects are better yet many of them end up in central Athens living in squalid apartments and are exploited by criminal gangs, according to a statement on the Ministry of Citizen Protection’s website.
Anti-immigrant groups “are taking advantage of the disaffection of the average Greek voter against uncontrolled immigration,” said Couloumbis, who is vice-president of the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy and writes a regular column in the Athens-based Kathimerini newspaper.
In addition to Golden Dawn, the Independent Greeks party has polled near 10 percent. It was set up on Feb. 24 by Panos Kammenos after he was expelled from New Democracy for casting a vote against the interim Papademos government.
Laos, a nationalist party that wants immigrants to be shipped to uninhabited Greek islands before being deported, is also vying for anti-foreigner voters. Polls show as many as 10 political parties could enter Greece’s parliament.
No Nazis
Golden Dawn caused controversy on the campaign trail when a group of its supporters threw bottles and other objects at a Pasok socialist candidate during a campaign event in the Athens suburb of Maroussi on April 21, Athens News Agency reported.
“Parliament cannot become a reception space for the followers of Nazism and fascism,” Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said in response to the incident.
During late March and early April, hundreds of police with dogs began rounding up illegal immigrants in downtown Athens ahead of the creation of detention centers being set up throughout Greece, mostly at disused army bases.
Couloumbis, who experienced Adolf Hitler’s troops as a boy, said Golden Dawn’s winning seats “would be quite damaging.”
“I’m old enough to have lived during the occupation of Greece by the Germans,” he said in an interview. “The last thing we need on top of everything else is to have a bunch of fascists in the Greek parliament.”

I suppose this shouldn't be terribly surprising - it's not like people have changed much since the 1930's. Make them desperate enough - and Greek austerity appears to have done that - and you get predictable results. I'm guessing a lot of this is simply any damn fringe party with a presence getting votes simply because the major parties have completely alienated the people.

[Jim Raynor]

Looks like they're going to get six percent of the Greek Parliament: Link

Be afraid, exultant Greek neo-Nazis warn rivals

By Will Vassilopoulos | AFP – 3 hrs ago

Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn warned rivals and reformers Sunday that "the time for fear has come" after exit polls showed them securing their entry in parliament for the first time in nearly 40 years.

"The time for fear has come for those who betrayed this homeland," Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos told a news conference at an Athens hotel, flanked by menacing shaven-headed young men.

"We are coming," the 55-year-old said as supporters threw firecrackers outside.

According to updated exit polls, the once-marginal party will end up winning over six percent of the vote and sending 19 deputies to the 300-seat parliament on a wave of immigration and crime fears, as well as anti-austerity anger.

Exulting in the apparent breakthrough, Michaloliakos quoted Julius Caesar: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" -- I came, I saw, I conquered.

Michaloliakos said his party would fight against "world usurers" and the "slavery" of an EU-IMF loan agreement which he likened to a "dictatorship".

"Greece is only the beginning," he shouted at reporters as he walked to the news conference, accusing foreign media of spreading lies about his movement.

At the last general election in 2009, the virulently anti-immigrant group had scored just 0.29 percent.

Once part of the country's political fringe, the Hryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn) had already made headlines in 2010 by electing Michaloliakos, 55, to Athens' city council on a wave of anti-immigration tension in the capital's poorer districts.

Shortly after being elected to the council thanks to more than 10,000 votes in the Greek capital, Michaloliakos made waves by giving two fascist salutes captured by a television camera.

A mathematician, Michaloliakos has said Greece could survive "very nicely" without the EU-IMF recovery deal.

"Certainly we should break the agreement," he told the Athens News English-language weekly last month.

"After that, we will survive very nicely. Greece is a rich country," he said, adding that the country would not necessarily have to return to the drachma.

On his agenda, Michaloliakos said his focus would be on "national issues, social issues, the problem of illegal immigration, attribution of responsibility for all scandals."

All illegal migrants "should leave our country," he said.

Golden Dawn has strengthened on the back of the country's deep economic crisis -- it has been bailed out twice -- with unemployment at 20 percent and poverty rising.

It has portrayed immigrants as stealing Greeks' jobs and as being responsible for a wave of crime, as the country is the first point of entry for many illegal migrants into the European Union.

The mainstream parties on the right, including New Democracy of the country's likely next prime minister Antonis Samaras, have been forced to boost their own anti-migration rhetoric to keep up.

The outgoing coalition government planned a network of detention camps around the country to hold migrants earmarked for repatriation, and its socialist predecessors began building a wire fence on the Greek-Turkish border as a deterrent.

With Greece the main entry-point for illegal migrants into Europe, thousands of migrants unable to cross to other EU states due to legal constraints have created urban ghettos in Athens, Patras and other cities.

Hostility from local residents has spiked in recent months with the deterioration of an economic crisis that has brought recession and hundreds of thousands of job losses in Greece.

Serious WTF. I mean, American politics is dysfunctional enough these days, but this is something else entirely. In America, if a high level politician is caught making Nazi salutes, his career is fucking over. In Greece, it gets you elected now. I think the worst part in this article was when they said that the mainstream conservative party there is now changing its policies to match.

[Akhlut]

When a nation is burdened by enormous levels of debt from outside groups and is experiencing financial free fall, a portion of the population might become reactionary fascists? It's almost like this has never happened before, especially in Europe! :v

Serious WTF. I mean, American politics is dysfunctional enough these days, but this is something else entirely. In America, if a high level politician is caught making Nazi salutes, his career is fucking over. In Greece, it gets you elected now. I think the worst part in this article was when they said that the mainstream conservative party there is now changing its policies to match.

The US hasn't been forced into taking austerity measures from the world bank.

Also, as has been said, when fascism comes to the US, it will come dressed in the Stars and Stripes. They won't be giving Hitler salutes, but will be quoting the Founding Fathers and using the Constitution to embrace fascist principles.

[The Romulan Republic]

Jesus Christ. Wasn't fifty million dead the first time enough to teach people not to vote for fascists?

[Stofsk]

What's that quote again about history and those who don't read it and what happens as a result? I know this, oh jeez. What is it.

[Gil Hamilton]

It seems like Greece does this every once in a while. Neo-fascism and national socialism have always been part of the Greek's right wing, even getting into power for a while at the end of the sixties with the Greek Junta. I doubt that's ever going to go away until Greece has an extended period where their economy isn't a piece of crap.

[Stark]

European politics and political movements not like America = alarming? :V

European states have allowed, dallied with or been ruled by 'bad' forms of government throughout the 20th century. And frankly, that's democracy in action. Well, maybe not Franco.

[The Romulan Republic]

I don't think anyone here is saying that its alarming because its not like America. Its alarming because they're fucking Nazis.

[Stark]

Are the communists this alarming? Are you afraid Greece will roll its tanks over Poland powered by word association?

This is democracy. The laugh is that you'd expect them to be turfed out of the EU if they break any of the rules on rights, do all that EU money will be a complete waste. :v

[The Romulan Republic]

I never said I expect them to be thrown out of the EU. Can you at least be honest?

I don't find communists as alarming, perhaps because their are many variations of communism and not all of them are as horrible as Nazism, but I certainly do not like them. And while I don't expect Greece to invade Poland, I damn well do expect any Nazi group to seek to do horrible things to its fellow citizens and to others. And just because its democracy doesn't mean I can't be worried about the consequences.

Stark, please put more thought into your posts, or shut it until you have something intelligent to say.

[Stark]

Christ. 'You', as in the general third person, would expect the EU to eject a country for breaking its rules on rights, not you specifically. You specifically are an idiot. This is a laugh because they arguably should have kicked them out years ago, and they may have to anyway.

And sorry, as others have said the Greek situation is pretty crazy and in a democracy people can vote for whoever they want. If they want violent anti-immigrant morons, then that's who they'll vote for.

Even the OP talked about how the ongoing crisis has arguably turned people against the previous government and the article talks about a swing to the right throughout Europe.

[Vashon]

Jesus Christ. Wasn't fifty million dead the first time enough to teach people not to vote for fascists?

...Do you really want to use body counts as a measuring stick? Because Fascism is a third.

Imperialism and Marxism are first and second. Time and all.

So...


Pick a scapegoat that nobody really liked much and only supported to appear nice or score brownie points. Then lynch them. The real question is how much power will thtlese guys legitimately wield?

[Lord Relvenous]

Jesus Christ. Wasn't fifty million dead the first time enough to teach people not to vote for fascists?

...Do you really want to use body counts as a measuring stick? Because Fascism is a third.

Imperialism and Marxism are first and second. Time and all.

So...

So, something is horrifying enough to not repeat only if it's the worst political ideology around? "Third worst" isn't bad enough?

[PeZook]

It's bullshit, anyways. Nazism definitely had the highest rate of mass murder out of all these ideologies. Neither imperialism nor communism can come close to fifty million dead in five years. Not that it's particularly important in this matter, though.

[Aaron MkII]

It's all well and good to condemn fascism, but step back and look at Greece. Even if they suddenly had a majority, what are they going to do? Greece is broke, they have a small military, are they suddenly going to attack Turkey or invade Cyprus?

No, this is a natural reaction to getting fucked, nothing more, nothing less. And as Dan pointed out, it's democracy in action.

[Mr Bean]

It's all well and good to condemn fascism, but step back and look at Greece. Even if they suddenly had a majority, what are they going to do? Greece is broke, they have a small military, are they suddenly going to attack Turkey or invade Cyprus?

They can do plenty in their own country. You know fucking Nazi's and all that. I'd think you be a tiny bit concerned about a totalitarian ideology gaining a foothold in Europe again.

[Skywalker_T-65]

That's true. While a Greece run by Nazi's can't go all Nazi Germany on us, they can do plenty of stuff to their own people. I don't worry about Greece doing much to other countries, but I still am watching this warily. Nazi's in power is NEVER a good thing.

[Thanas]

It's all well and good to condemn fascism, but step back and look at Greece. Even if they suddenly had a majority, what are they going to do? Greece is broke, they have a small military, are they suddenly going to attack Turkey or invade Cyprus?

They can do plenty in their own country. You know fucking Nazi's and all that. I'd think you be a tiny bit concerned about a totalitarian ideology gaining a foothold in Europe again.

There are already fascist or semi-fascist parties in some sort of power all over Europe. Heck, I can name at least six European countries where fascists are represented in the national parliaments, and I can name four where they came to power over the last 15 years as some port of a coalition.

People voting for these kind of groups is only natural in a parliamentary system, one (general one, not directed at Bean) should not be alarmed by them per se. They have so far amounted to very little (outside of Switzerland, Austria and Denmark) and are not a serious threat to democracy. The reason being is that we now have a European framework which severely limits the damage they can do.

[Vaporous]

It's all well and good to condemn fascism, but step back and look at Greece. Even if they suddenly had a majority, what are they going to do? Greece is broke, they have a small military, are they suddenly going to attack Turkey or invade Cyprus?

They can do plenty in their own country. You know fucking Nazi's and all that. I'd think you be a tiny bit concerned about a totalitarian ideology gaining a foothold in Europe again.

There are already fascist or semi-fascist parties in some sort of power all over Europe. Heck, I can name at least six European countries where fascists are represented in the national parliaments, and I can name four where they came to power over the last 15 years as some port of a coalition.

People voting for these kind of groups is only natural in a parliamentary system, one (general one, not directed at Bean) should not be alarmed by them per se. They have so far amounted to very little (outside of Switzerland, Austria and Denmark) and are not a serious threat to democracy. The reason being is that we now have a European framework which severely limits the damage they can do.

Didn't a semi-fascist party recently take power in Hungary and make some unsavory constitutional changes? The story sort of disappeared after a week in the States, so I haven't heard how that situation developed.

[Thanas]

Didn't a semi-fascist party recently take power in Hungary and make some unsavory constitutional changes? The story sort of disappeared after a week in the States, so I haven't heard how that situation developed.

Fides. Now, these guys are a threat. They practically want to turn Hungary into a mixture of Franco-Spain and Russia. They have made strides with that as well. And predictably, they are now in conflict with the EU and will get slammed hard if indications are any favor.

However, it is worth noting they got a parliamentary majority due to elections going their way. THat is different from six percent as in Greece - Fides is a widespread movement that captured majorities.

[Aaron MkII]

It's all well and good to condemn fascism, but step back and look at Greece. Even if they suddenly had a majority, what are they going to do? Greece is broke, they have a small military, are they suddenly going to attack Turkey or invade Cyprus?

They can do plenty in their own country. You know fucking Nazi's and all that. I'd think you be a tiny bit concerned about a totalitarian ideology gaining a foothold in Europe again.

I tell you what, when they get a majority I might be concerned. They have 6 percent right now, so I'm not going to piss my self just yet.

[Simon_Jester]

A large minority (20%) could be a serious problem because they enable right-leaning parties that don't go so far but go in the same general direction... and said parties also enable them.

A 6% minority is less of an issue, in and of itself.

[Gunhead]

More or less what Thanas said. This looks like people are hyperventilating over a minor group who might get a few years of shouting from a soap box. If they get actual power.. well then I'm so glad I don't live in Greece. My prediction is these guys will basically self annihilate before the next election, these vocal minority parties are ground up pretty easily when they have very little or no influence over the daily political grind and with that basically no or very limited ability to push forward their pet soap box agenda. While our own far right party can hardly be called nazis, I'd like to point out that their popularity is on the decline, mostly due to the refusing a place in the government and instead went into opposition.
At least the papers are happy as they can sell "ZOMG! t3h nazis are coming, AND NOT FROM THE MOON!" articles.

-Gunhead

[CaptHawkeye]

It may be kneejerk over reactions but damn, these guys have definitely got the style down. Check out their flag.

[Stofsk]

Holy shit.