Golden Dawn: Greek Parliament

Syntagma Square Dept: Ilias Kassidiaris, spokesman of Golden Dawn, sounds adamant as he gestures toward a line of hundreds of shabbily dressed, mostly elderly people waiting on Aug. 1 for a handout of food aid in Syntagma Square, outside the Greek parliament. Young women and men wearing the right-wing party s trademark black T-shirts check identification before giving grateful recipients a plastic carrier bag filled with fruit, vegetables and pasta, according to The Chronicle Herald. The party has gained some credibility, thanks to its food handouts and other social efforts, yet its overt racism, anti-Semitism and taste for violence disturb many Greeks. We are providing food produced in Greece for Greek citizens only. Golden Dawn is Europe s most recently successful far-right party. It won 6.9 per cent of the vote and 18 seats, mostly in Athens, at parliamentary elections in June. Nikos Michaloliakos, the party s founder and leader, insists that his is not a neo-Nazi group, despite a swastika-like official symbol and the Nazi-style salute from party members when he appears on a podium. Golden Dawn s voters include many police officers, disaffected young Greeks and older people living in city districts with high crime rates. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.