by Sarantis Michalopoulos
Greek conservatives emerged victorious in the second round of elections on Sunday giving them a historic absolute majority, but with the further collapse of the leftist opposition, combined with the rise of the far-right, dark shadows are now cast over the new parliament.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party (EPP) got 158 seats out of the 300-member parliament. The main opposition remains the leftist Syriza party (EU Left) with 48 seats, followed by socialists with 32, communists (KKE) with 20 seats and a new small leftist party (Plefsi Eleftherias) with eight seats.
A new Golden Dawn
But on the right side of the political spectrum, the entry of two far-right groups created what the news website News247 described as a “monster parliament”.
“The Spartans” party got 12 seats, and it’s considered to be the continuity of the former neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which has been branded as a criminal organisation.
The man behind this is Elias Kasidiaris, a former leading Golden Dawn member who has been imprisoned but all these years has been allowed to spread far-right propaganda online from jail.
According to a Greek court ruling, Golden Dawn and Elias Kasidiaris were not allowed to run in the elections, and they did not do so in the first round in May.
However, in the second round, hundreds of thousands of posters across the country informed the electorate that Kasidiaris supported a party established a couple of weeks ago called “The Spartans”.
The Spartans’ chief Vasilis Stiga even thanked convicted Kasidiaris in his first message after the elections: “I would like to thank Elias Kasidiaris for his support. It was the fuel that gave us the impetus to reach today’s result”.
Another party that raised eyebrows was “Niki”, which got 10 seats.
It emphasises Christian orthodox traditions, has a tough stance against migrants, opposes abortion and promotes Orthodoxy as a unifying element of the Balkan people.
Moreover, it has opposed support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Greek press reports suggested that it receives financial support from para-religious organisations or even some Russian businessmen. The official Orthodox Church has kept its distance from the party.
The third party, the “Greek Solution” (12 seats), is also considered ultranationalist and belongs to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
Although more moderate compared to the other two, the Greek Solution is pro-Russian and has a strong anti-migration rhetoric.
Shocked left eyes a ‘reset’
Meanwhile, the leftist opposition Syriza party, although it remained in the main opposition, shrunk further.
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras stated, “when the Right and the Far Right advance, the democratic forces must organise their resistance”.
The party is expected to launch internal procedures soon while analysts suggest that Tsipras’ leadership may be questioned.
However, Tsipras said he would put himself “in the judgement” of the party’s members, which was interpreted as him not being willing to step down.
The socialists (Pasok), another progressive party, maintained the political gains of the first round and did not benefit from Syriza’s electoral losses.
Leftist journals reported that the left and socialists should now work together and avoid further fragmentation.
However, such a project is difficult to implement, considering that Pasok aims to become the main opposition party taking advantage of Syriza’s collapse.
“Against the extreme right turn, what is needed is progressive resistance”, an op-ed posted on neutral news website In.gr notes.
Anti-government press reports suggest that conservative Mitsotakis will now try to present himself as a “Macron-style liberal” representing the only guarantee of a fragmented opposition of the extremes, the “toxic left” and the “dark far right”.
Others estimate that the rise of far right could potentially put pressure on the government to follow more right policies in order to keep far right down.
*first published in: Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
