By Vasiliki Mitsiniotou
ATHENS
Right and far-right movements in Greece have strengthened their voice during the European refugee crisis and economic depression that has hit the country over the last few years.
Greece’s opposition New Democracy (ND) party, which came second in the country’s general election two weeks ago, is of the right. ND leader, Vaggelis Meimarakis, returning from a European People’s Party summit a week ago, described the immigration and refugee crisis as “a bomb ready to explode”.
His ND party believes that a valid solution will only come from an agreement within the European Union which needs to empower Frontex as a control border force and fund Greece to deal with refugees. Meimarakis has criticized the government, led by leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras, for not doing enough.
Three New Democracy MPs representing islands close to Turkey recently accused Tsipras’ coalition government of dissolving “the cohesion of the country”.
Several Greek islands have faced serious issues brought about by a huge number of refugees and migrants risking their lives to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey.
The MPs accused Tsipras’ policies of undermining Greek sovereignty.
However, speaking a few days after his re-election in September, Tsipras criticized New Democracy, saying it was enabling Greece’s far-right. He has accused the ND party of being “greatly irresponsible” in the past and for trying to take advantage of the problem by “addressing extreme instincts of the people”.
There is no doubt that New Democracy includes more than center-right members.
Adonis Georgiadis, one of the candidates for the party’s leadership, and MP Makis Voridis, used to be members of the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party.
When New Democracy ran for election in 2012, the coordinator of the party’s campaign of New Democracy for North Greece, Panagiotis Psomiadis, referred to neo-Nazi Golden Dawn members as “brothers”.
Yet it was only a few months ago, in August, that ND leader Meimarakis himself declared that he would talk to and cooperate with Golden Dawn in a coalition government.
Dimitris Psarras is a journalist at the Efimerida twn Syntaktwn newspaper who has researched the beginnings of the modern far-right, including LAOS and Golden Dawn.
In a piece for Arxiotaxion Magazine – 'Konstantinos Plevris and the August 4 Party' – Psarras writes that LAOS leader Giorgos Karatzaferis and Golden Dawn head Nikos Michaloliakos were both connected to Konstantinos Plevris, an active figure in right-wing movements since the 1960’s. Plevris introduced them to nationalism and neo-fascism.
Golden Dawn saw a rise in support between 2008 and 2011, a period marked by Greece’s first international bailout and the high-profile police killing of a 15-year-old boy, Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
In its manifesto, Golden Dawn states that all "illegal immigrants" should be rounded up and sent home. There are more than 55 local Golden Dawn branches throughout Greece disseminating these ideas.
According to the Racist Violence Recording Network, NGOs and grassroots organizations, immigrants and refugees were targeted in 46 out of 81 incidents of racist violence recorded in a 2014 report.
Their research also mentions that the police and judicial investigations into the activities of extremist groups, through cases linked to Golden Dawn, has positively contributed to the empowerment of victims.
There has been a significant reduction in racist attacks since September 2013 when the authorities took action against Golden Dawn and although the far-right is not in decline, violent attacks seem to be fewer.
In the last election, Golden Dawn increased its vote from 6.28% in January to 6.99% in September. On the Dodecanese islands and those of Lesvos and Samos – where many immigrants and refugees first arrive in Greece from Turkey – Golden Dawn’s vote percentage increased by 2.37 percent, 3.22 percent and 2.72 percent respectively.
The party received between 7-8 percent of the vote in these island constituencies, revealing some significant support.
There are other smaller right-wing parties and movements engaging in anti-immigrant rhetoric. Some of them, such as right-wing Christian Democratic Rebirth and the anti-austerity Single Popular Front ask for the amendment of EU rules which say immigrants must apply for asylum in the first European state they enter.
SYRIZA’S coalition partner, the center-right Independent Greeks, would also like to see the cancelation of this so-called ‘Dublin II’ Regulation. Independent Greeks – like New Democracy – also talk about the need of a common European strategy, a more active role for Frontex and increased financial support for countries that are the main entry points for refugees and immigrants, such as Greece.
A coalition called National Union, consisting of the small National Revolution, Greek Dawn and National Popular Formation (ELAS), is outwardly xenophobic. It strongly supports the deportation of immigrants and refugees who are depicted as dangerous people who form gangs, spread illness and terror.
The leader of neo-liberal Creation Again party, Thanos Tzimeros has a different view. During the pre-election period in September, he expressed his fear of a so-called Islamic danger flooding Europe after saying that refuges should be protected and immigrants deported. Back in May 2012, he suggested in a radio broadcast that immigrants could be employed as a cheap labor force.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, since the beginning of this year more than 400,000 refugees and immigrants have entered Greece. Considering the lack of state resources, locals are increasingly vulnerable to far-right rhetoric and violent ‘solutions’ – which have been implemented in the past with tragic results.
