Greece prepares to dissolve Parliament
ATHENS, Greece — Greece swore in 300 legislators Thursday for just one day before it dissolves Parliament and calls new elections — among them, 21 lawmakers from Golden Dawn, arguably the most far-right party involved in a European national legislature since Naziera Germany.
Formerly a shadowy fringe group, Golden Dawn vehemently rejects the neo-nazi label, insisting that it is a nationalist patriotic party, but its meteoric rise from a largely marginalized outfit a few years ago to one that won nearly 7 percent in recent elections has alarmed many in Greece and throughout Europe.
In the traditional Parliamentary swearing-in ceremony, Golden Dawn legislators refused to stand as two Muslim deputies took their oaths on the Quran instead of the Bible. “Beginning today, Golden Dawn is officially in Parliament to speak the language of truth and to express all Greeks,” said party spokesman Ilias Kassidiaris, who was elected into Parliament.
But the party, like all others, will be tested again at the ballot box next month. The May 6 election left no party with enough votes to form a government after Greeks furious over the handling of the nation’s financial crisis deserted the two formerly dominant parties, the socialists and conservatives. They turned instead to smaller groups to the right and left of the political spectrum, including extreme ones.
Coalition talks collapsed after nine days, leaving no other option but a repeat election. A caretaker government has been appointed, led by a senior judge, and the newly sworn-in Parliament is to be dissolved today so an election can officially be called, with an expected date of June 17.
Party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos caused a backlash earlier this week when he claimed that Nazi concentration camps did not use ovens and gas chambers to kill prisoners during the Holocaust. Party members also have been blamed for violent racist attacks in Athens and elsewhere.
In the run-up to the last election, there was a backlash against the Golden Dawn in Greece and abroad. Since their strong poll showing, politicians and civil rights groups have criticized them as extremists, with no place in Parliament.
“The Golden Dawn party is a dark stain on European politics. For the first time in over six decades, a seemingly longhidden Nazi ideology returned to power,” said Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress. “The Golden Dawn party is not a far-right wing party; it represents a neoNazi vision and ideology that many believed was isolated. Their political rise should have sent shock waves through Europe, and we expect politicians to openly reject this newold danger.”
The party has also been sidelined by Greece’s politicians.
None of the other parties sought out Golden Dawn’s support, and Greek President Karolos Papoulias, who brokered the last efforts at breaking the political deadlock, didn’t invite Mr. Michaloliakos to negotiations over a potential technocrat government. Mr. Michaloliakos then stayed away from the final meeting called to decide on a caretaker government, where constitutionally all parties with parliamentary representation must be invited.