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Dark Dawn as neo-Nazis win seats in Athens

May 10, 2012 15:20
Nikolaos Michaloliakos’s policies include putting landmines along Greece’s borders to deter immigrants

By

Toby Axelrod,

Toby Axelrod

1 min read

The shocking election success of Greece's extreme right-wing party on Sunday has the local Jewish community deeply worried.

The Golden Dawn party, with its anti-immigrant, anti-austerity platform and a symbol resembling the swastika, took about seven per cent of the vote, guaranteeing it 20 out of 300 seats in the Greek parliament.

Pundits see their success as a vote of protest against severe austerity measures taken by mainstream parties to stave off a deeper economic crisis.

But how any Greeks - angry as they are - could vote for Golden Dawn is beyond David Saltiel, president of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece.