November, 2012
The Greek economy is in a depression. The austerity measures
demanded by the troika have made it worse. Nationally one in four Greeks are
out of work. Those with jobs fair little better: Greek bosses are determined to
trash conditions and drive down pay.
Greek workers are not just passive victims—they have been
fighting every step of the way. Greece has been rocked by massive general
strikes, rallies, and occupations. The crisis may be deepest in Greece, but the
resistance is fiercest.
But progressive struggle is only one of two twins that are
born in crisis. Reaction, too, has reared its head in Greece. Amid deprivation
and social decay, fascism has found new momentum.
In the June elections the Nazi party Golden Dawn won
eighteen seats and 7 per cent of the vote. In a poll published in November they
are now the third most popular party. Their electoral rise has been rapid—in
2011 Golden Dawn polled at less than 1 per cent of the national vote.
Officially, Golden Dawn presents itself as “nationalist”,
rather than fascist. But it puts little effort into maintaining this illusion:
their banner resembles a swastika; they make Nazi salutes at meetings and
rallies; and their leader—Nikolaos Mihaloliakos—praises Hitler and denies the
Holocaust.
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