In the June 2023 Greek parliamentary elections, three political parties associated with the extreme right secured seats in the Greek Parliament. According to Ministry of Interior data, the “Spartans”, “Greek Solution”, and “Victory” collectively amassed over 650,000 votes.
The electoral success of this political realm was one of the topics discussed during the panel titled “We need to talk about the far-right, but how?” held as part of the iMEdD International Journalism Forum from September 28 to 30, 2023, in Athens. Moderated by journalists Panagiotis Menegos and Kostas Koukoumakas, the panel featured journalists Dimitris Psarras, Lefteris Bidelas, Flora Garamvolgyi and Antoine Malo.
The transformation of the far-right
“It is indeed a reality that today, the far-right is marked by fundamental changes compared to the Golden Dawn era”, says Dimitris Psarras, who has written a number of articles and books on Golden Dawn and the far-right in Greece. Golden Dawn was characterised by a hierarchical structure centred around its leader. “Presently, we observe somewhat more diffuse patterns. There’s a nod to a leader, as evident in the case of the Spartans with Ilias Kasidiaris, but the members themselves—be they “Spartans”, “Greeks”, or affiliated with any other organisation – are essentially extras in a one-man show. The current structure has not yet solidified into a formation with a cohesive core, like the one Michaloliakos had established. But I don’t rule out the possibility of such a transformation in the future”, he adds.
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