Introduction

Greece is a parliamentary republic. Since July 2019, the majority government of the New Democracy (Néa Dhimokratía – right-wing) party has been in power. While the economic crisis of 2008-2015 was declared over, high unemployment and stagnated wages remain a problem, magnified by the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country maintains positive relations with its neighboring countries in the North. Unresolved disputes with Turkey over exclusive economic zones (EEZ), territorial waters, and other issues have created renewed tensions in recent years. Greece maintains a “special relationship” with the Republic of Cyprus.

Human rights have not improved in the country over the past few years. Greece is facing numerous reports from international bodies and organizations, as well as mounting evidence that there’s a central, state-sponsored policy of pushbacks against asylum seekers and migrants both on the land border of Evros and in the Aegean Sea. Meanwhile, the government has passed a new law on citizenship, making prerequisites for applications stricter than before.

Status of the far right in the country

After the double parliamentary elections of 2023, it is the first time in Greek political history that the far-right is participating in the Greek Parliament with three parties (Hellenic Solution, Niki, Spartans), an independent MP who supports most of the government initiatives (the lawyer Charalambos Katsivardas, a former Spartan representative and a man under the influence of Ilias Kasidiaris), and a strong parliamentary presence within ND (Makis Voridis and Antonis Samaras are the most prominent leaders of this faction). To this dynamic, we must add far right-wing factions (the Popular Orthodox Synagogue, the National Front), neo-Nazi groups (the weakened Golden Dawn, Pro Patria, “Sacred Band”/Ieros Lochos in Northern Greece and the ‘autonomous’ Nationalist Youth of Thessaloniki), the newspapers and independent politicians of the extra-parliamentary far-right (former LAOS MEP Konstantinos Aivaliotis, the expelled from the South-Western Democratic Party Faelos Kranidiotis, etc. In the upcoming European elections, polls agree that the fragmented far-right will register a share of over 16%: Kyriakos Velopoulos’ Hellenic Solution will emerge as the leading force in the field, with a share of perhaps more than 10%, Niki will get close to 4%, while the Spartans, who in 2023 had the support of the incarcerated Ilias Kasidiaris, will probably fail to elect an MEP (polls put them at around 2.5%). Finally, the dynamics of newly emerging parties are still emerging: the Conservatives (led by the influencer Terry Hadjiremias, a man with a close connection to Ilias Kasidiaris’ party “Greeks”), the Voice of Logic (led by the Northern Greek anti-feminist influencer Afroditi Latinopoulou), etc.

After the failure of Golden Dawn to enter parliament and facing the end of the trial, two split parties formed by the two most prominent members of the neo-Nazi party: “National Popular Consciousness” (“ELASYN”) by Ioannis Lagos (MEP with Golden Dawn, later independent) and Ilias Kasidiaris, previously spokesperson of the Golden Dawn. Organized far-right violence has receded significantly since the apparent decline of the Golden Dawn. But incidents of racist violence remain present, with some limited resurgence in violence from groups seen in 2021. New groups such as “Trustees of Article 120 of the Constitution” have emerged, acting publicly as a militia. In contrast, existing groups (“Sacred Band” and “Propatria”) seem to be moving in to fill the gap left by dissolved local chapters of Golden Dawn. Attacks from the far-right are primarily directed at those considered by the far-right as “enemies from within,” such as leftists, communists, anarchists, and other antifascists, including centrists. Violence against refugees and migrants also occurs, sometimes organized. Acts of vandalism and desecration of Jewish cemeteries have also been recorded several times since 2017.

Status of antifascists in the country

In general, the antifascist movement is following a trajectory of decline, like most movements after the capitulation of Syriza in 2015. An additional reason for this decline is the conflict of parts of the movement around the anti-pandemic measures, as autonomous antifa groups have openly denounced them, repeatedly publishing material (posters, pamphlets) and calling for mobilizations. After the antifascist demonstrations of 2018-9 (a period of violent right-wing mobilizations against the Prespa Treaty, which recognized the national identity of North Macedonia), the antifascist movement recorded two crucial moments: October 2020 in Athens, on the day of the conviction in the Golden Dawn trial, and September-October 2021 in Thessaloniki, after the repeated attacks by fascist students of the Stavroupoli Lyceum (Western Thessaloniki) against antifascist pupils and students. More recently, the Thessaloniki movement organized an impressive demonstration in Aristotelous Square (the city’s main square), less than 24 hours after a mob of more than 100 people, mostly minors, verbally and physically attacked two trans people on the days of the International Documentary Festival dedicated to the LGBTI movement. The primary organization of the movement in Athens was the assembly of the Anti-Fascist Coordination of Athens-Piraeus, which comprised organizations of the extra-parliamentary left and well-known activists.  Anti-authoritarian groups are organized separately. In Thessaloniki, the Anti-Racist Initiative of Thessaloniki remains the main forum for the coordination of the extra-parliamentary Left, while anarchist groups mobilizing against fascist attacks, anti-Gypsyism, and femicide are strong. We should also add the activities of several NGOs (Observatory for the Trial of Golden Dawn, Point for the Study and Counteraction of the Extreme Right).

Historic developments

Greece follows the example of the radicalization of the European South: until 2015-6, radical opposition to EU austerity policies came from the radical Left, with SYRIZA as the main force. Since the beginning of 2016 and the election of Kyriakos Mitsotakis as leader of the New Democracy, the balance of power between the Left and the Right has been gradually changing against the former as the agenda shifts from the economy to immigration and issues of foreign policy and national identity: the electoral victory of ND in the neighborhoods of the working class has been more than telling. In this climate, the far-right is significantly ramping up its action on the refugee issue (until 2020) and against the Prespa Agreement (2018-2019). New groups are attempting to occupy the space covered by Golden Dawn after its prosecution and conviction. At the same time, the pandemic has been a significant opportunity for the far-right to link itself to Europe-wide anti-vaccination trends, capitalizing on distrust of the government and the scientific community. In the whole period after 2015 and until now, the Greek Orthodox Church has intervened systematically in what concerns issues of its agenda, as it did during the parliamentary process concerning the LGBTQ marriage bill, while the far-Right parties and organizations proved unable to organize mass mobilizations, it was the Northern and Central Greece branch of the Orthodox Church that took initiatives against the government, thus magnifying the split within ND.

International relationships

Until a few years ago, Golden Dawn advertised its relations with the Italian Casa Pound. In August 2023, the connection between Panathinaikos fans and the fascist hooligans of Dinamo Zagreb, who marched heavily armed through the streets of New Philadelphia (a town in North-Western Attica), killing a 29-year-old AEK fan, was widely discussed. On a party level, the main force of the far right today, the Greek Solution, is listed in the European Conservatives and Reformists group, along with Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy.

Political landscape

The 2023 elections showed how radically the political landscape in Greece has changed compared to 2009-2019. The left is unable to set the tone of the confrontation with the government. This, despite major mobilizations, among others, for the Tempi train crash and the privatization of railways or for water to remain a public good),. At the same time, despite their fragmentation, the far-right forces are now jointly the main opposition force to the ND. Based on the polls, the Hellenic Solution will have a share very close to that of SYRIZA and PASOK, competing for second place. The traditional Communist Party has a trade-unionist policy, which does not challenge ND, while the centrist-populist Course of Liberty (“Plefsi Eleftherias”) does not invest in mass mobilization against the government. The rise of the Hellenic Solution puts pressure on ND, which announced Fredi Beleri, an ethnic Greek mayor-elect in Albania recently sentenced to two years in prison for vote-buying, as a candidate for the upcoming European elections. In any case, while ND has been showing losses in the polls of these three last months due to its failure to deal with rising inflation and the dramatic increase in the cost of living in Greece, Hellenic Solution is the only one of the three parties of the parliamentary far-Right to benefit from this dynamics.

Media landscape

Until recently, well-known far-right journalists and influencers have had near-permanent positions on popular morning shows, while far-right actors have achieved remarkable networking of local TV stations. Ahead of the European elections, it remains to be seen whether the mainstream media will continue to promote far-right candidates, a tactic that clearly threatens ND. In the press, far-right views are promoted by the newspapers Democracy, Massacre (“Makeleio”) and Eleftheri Ora, which together have considerable influence. On the internet, the organization of the far right is impressive (from news sites such as Pronews, owned by the Defence News Media Group, to networking on platforms such as YouTube, X/Twitter, TikTok, and Telegram).

Financial landscape

The funding of Golden Dawn has been cut off since 2013. Due to the relationship of many MPs with the convicted ex-Golden Dawn MP Ilias Kasidiaris (who declared support for the Spartans in 2023), it is also likely that funding for the Spartans will be cut off. Businessman Prodromos Emfietzoglou is running for the European elections this year, but as of 2023, it is doubtful that he will register a percentage above 1-1.5%. Finally, the Defence News Media Group (DNM Group) is particularly active. The DNM Group is owned by businessman Tasos Gouriotis, former communications manager of the Ministry of Defence, National Defence, and candidate for mayor of Glyfada (Southern Attica) with the support of several far-right groups.