A frightening aspect of the Greek Election - Neo-Nazis elected to Parliment

[FrodosPet]

Be afraid, exultant Greek neo-Nazis warn rivals

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/afraid-exultant-greek-neo-nazis-warn-rivals-203620995.html

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.

~ snip ~

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.

~ snip ~

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One can say it's ONLY 6 percent, it's ONLY 19 seats.

The fact remains, it is Neo Nazis gaining elected seats. So for those people who want a complete breakdown of the economy because they are convinced that it will be progressive socialism that rises from the ashes - be careful what you wish for!

[Lionessa]

1. If the rise in progressive socialism begins to work for the people, that anomally will correct

itself. So rather than shit on their (the Greek masses) parade, how about we just do what we can by word and deed to assure that the message gets across and things change and desperation eases. If so that N-N party will dissolve away as they won't be able to take credit for anything with 9% and 16 seats. If not, . . . yeah a concern, but still not a guarantee they'll turn to NNs. BAnd to assume just to be ornery that the new ruling party will not resolve anything and therefore the NNs will take over... negative hype with no reasoning, just some bloviators rhetoric...

I guess a valid warning to watch out for the guys, this whole be careful what you wish for . . . . The Greek people's had to do something to assure the status quo changed, and now we'll see if they put together something besides "wishes" that aren't much useful anyway

[coalition_unwilling]

2. Would a Greek 'neo-Nazi' party advocate doing to Germany even a tiny portion of

what Germany did to Greece during WWII?

FWIW, Hitler may have lost World War II due to the Greeks' forcing him to deploy troops there that were slated for the Eastern Front. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Greece because of that.

[newspeak]

13. yeah, what the nazis did to greece was horrendous

my friend who is greek bares a tattoo on her wrist from being in a damn nazis concentration camp. Why does it seem that the right wing fascist wackos come into play when faced with economic woes? Do they play the fear card on the people and the people buy into their shite?

[coalition_unwilling]

19. I'm no expert on Greece, despite having a former boss of Greek heritage

who, ironically, drives a Mercedes I ribbed him about it repeatedly and he somewhat guiltily laughed at his treason to his countrymen of yore.

I know that Golden Dawn capitalized initially on anti-immigrant sentiment but used the EU crisis to bolster its showing at the expense of New Democracy (the center-right conservative party).

Since a good portion of Greece's woes are thanks to Germany's austerity policies (and the German lending that preceded said austerity), I'd like to see the focus be on giving Merkel and German fatcats the middle finger and not on poor Turkish immigrants.

But, hey, that's me.

[HiPointDem]

3. The parties of the left & right won because the parties of the middle were so compromised &

ineffectual. As in germany, where the left & right gained strength when the middle failed. Then the right went after the left (with the complicity of the middle) and the rest is history.

[coalition_unwilling]

20. The parties in the middle failed to speak out against anti-semitism (in the case

of Weimar Germany) and against anti-Turkish racism (in the case of Greece currently). Hell, IIRC, PASOK even advocated erecting some sort of fence along Greece's border with Turkey, somewhat akin to the Repuke nuttery of building a fence along the Rio Grande. When the mainstream socialist party is indulging in populist racism, it's a bad sign.

[Sherman A1]

4. Certainly worth watching, yet

this election was very much about "throw the bums out" in Greece. It will most likely correct itself when it's time to govern & to get re-elected.

[Lars77]

5. This is the big test for the European Union

In Hungary fascists got 19% two years ago, The Jobbik party. And in Hungary the right liberalist governing party has re-written the constitution allowing them to gerrymander districts, appoint and fire judges and all kinds of shit.
They re-wrote the constitution on an Ipad on the train from Brussels to Budapest, how is that for irony.

Needs to be said though, the Greek nazis here are way way more radical in their rhetoric, advocating ethnic cleansing etc.


This is the test the EU was made for. Nowadays it feels like a vehicle to force countries into a more neoliberal economic policy originally though the EU was a steel union between France and Germany. To create economic interdependence between each other and at the same time both countries enjoying the fruits of the disputed Alcace-Lorraine industrial area was basically to keep them going to war against each other.

And what is happening now is that the two countries who have been hit hardest (Greek austerity and Hungarian economic problems), their people are looking for solution outside the main stream which is why the communists in Greece did a huge election. In Hungary people have turned to the right. It is up to the EU to make sure that these outliers stay within normal democratic principles.

PS: The Spanish chose not to go radical and voted out the socialists with the only option they had, the conservatives. In France, the conservatives were ousted yesterday, and the socialists got back in. But for how long will the people vote main stream if both parties are causing the same kind of damage?

[Lars77]

6. More info here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_legislative_election,_2012

[FrodosPet]

7. The Way Too Simplistic Numbers

It looks like the right wing and right of center parties got 162 seats 35.9% of popular vote, and the left and left of center parties got 138 seats with 44.6% of the popular vote.

I suppose the left-leaning candidates won their elections by much larger margins, but the right-leaning candidates won more of their districts with smaller margins?

In any case, the "Independent Greeks" and the "Golden Dawn" need to be watched carefully by the world at large, as well as the Greeks themselves.

[FarCenter]

16. The communists got more votes than the Golden Dawn

New Democracy 18.9% 108 seats
Syriza 16.8 52
Pasok 13.2 41
Independent Greeks 10.6 33
Communist Party 8.5% 26 seats
Golden Dawn 7.0% 21 seats
Democratic Left 6.1 19

[Mister Ed]

8. Historically, economic disaster has given them their opportunity to gain a foothold. n/t

[BlueIris]

10. Yep.

Huge economic imbalances = extremist group activity. Even in "legitimate areas."

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Not just Greece, either, historically.

Meanwhile, closer to home, I hope people are seeing all the rightwing attacks here for what they are.

[hack89]

9. Scared people don't always turn to the Left for solutions. nt

[newspeak]

14. yeah, it seems that "scared" people, historically have been gullible enough

to accept some of the worst dictators and their policies. And those evil arseholes have convinced some with fear, blame and hate to do atrocious acts against humanity. Most scared people turn to the crazy right, because, it becomes "every person for themselves" and screw your neighbors, friends and anyone else that's in the way.

[Odin2005]

11. These people believe in Racialist nonsense. Frightening!

I heard them on the BBC World Service talking about how God create 4 races and went on about the evils of interracial relationships. These people are fucked up!

[coalition_unwilling]

21. Hope they put Slavs at the top and Aryans

at the bottom.

Joking, joking, but a little shout-out to World War II history buffs.

[white_wolf]

15. Fascist are wolves in sheep's clothing.

They talk about being for the common people, but they are really the most reactionary form of capitalism. They are capitalism's last and often most dangerous refugee. When times are good the elite don't pay them any mind, viewing them as thugs, but when things get bad they will turn to the Fascists.

[KamaAina]

17. There's no "only" in front of 19 seats

not when there's a coalition to be formed.

[Kaleva]

18. Extreme situations bring out the extremists.