Although the increasing popularity of the far-right in Europe is a sensitive topic, I think everyone loses if we cannot talk about it without accusation. For these countries, it is better to meet in the middle now before the middle-ground becomes too great to cross in the future.
In the case of Greece, the rise of Golden Dawn may mean this opportunity is gone. They are far-right of the worst variety, thuggish and violent in both their behaviour and rhetoric. They march into marketplaces and destroy the businesses of legal, and allegedly illegal, immigrants, and threaten them with violence if they do not leave. Despite all of this, their popularity seems to be rising, as they are performing better in recent elections. A recent poll in The Guardian gave them “positive opinions” from those surveyed at 22%, up from 12% in May. This may not be accurate, but they are nevertheless increasing in influence by most accounts.
An indicator of such popularity is their presence on the ground. They have food and clothing drives, seek to protect the elderly on the streets, and patrol their communities. By many accounts, these activities are working. As funding cuts take their effect and decreased civil order is on the rise, Golden Dawn is moving in to replace police and the state in some areas. Some people who call the police are being redirected to Golden Dawn in order to receive the help they want. Golden Dawn is not the cusp of some sort of take-over, but we must remember that for those who live under their protection or in their presence, this is their reality.
Why is this happening? The economic downturn and austerity measures certainly do not help. However necessary or unnecessary they might be, the austerity measures harm many and may lead them to support radicals. Despite this, it is clear that the driving force of Golden Dawn, like many other far-right parties, is a reaction against immigration.
According to Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, there are about 1.5 million immigrants in a country of 11 million, which “is creating extremism”. Economic austerity may have been the spark, but parties like Golden Dawn cannot get as far as they do without tapping into a bigger issue such as immigration.
We have to acknowledge that while some of the party’s members may simply be hateful people, this cannot account for all of them. It is unlikely that their food drives for the poor and escort services are merely for the sake of gaining votes; instead, it is likely that these people are trying to help. If your neighbourhood was in shambles, and illegal immigrants were a constant criminal threat, would you not be sympathetic to the people who were out in the community taking action? Those who sympathize with them may do it out of fear or feelings of alienation, but to ignore these feelings is a terrible mistake. In politics, perception can be more important than reality.
Many European governments have been ignoring not only empirical data, but the people’s feelings on immigration. Far-right parties across Europe are polling well by using immigration as a wedge. To ignore this wedge creates the fuel Golden Dawn needs if a crisis strikes in the future. Media, intellectuals, and the elite have gone out of their way to accuse those who spoke out against the silence and the status-quo as racists, fascists, xenophobes, and Nazis. Now they have real fascists on their hands.
