Greece: The Golden Dawn has risen

Harsh austerity measures imposed in the past two years in Greece has placed severe strain on public spending and resulted in disaffection and rage among the population. In a country where 1 in 2 young people are unemployed, it is no surprise that the Hryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn) Party managed to claim 7% of seats in the just concluded parliamentary elections.

Registered as a political party in 1993, though the leadership claim that they are not neo-nazi; with a uniform of black shirts bearing an insignia similar to the Nazi emblem, Golden Dawn have been blamed for violent hate fueled attacks on immigrants, particularly in the low-end areas. They have also been active in appealing to youth support by distributing fliers in schools and organizing concerts.

Seemingly their hard hitting campaign tactics where immigrants were virulently described as “stench” did not encumber their popularity. Nor did their calls for debt write-off, trashing the multi-billion bailout from the so-called “global loan sharks” also fail to galvanize their support. 

Without significant interventions into youth unemployment, the right of far-right extremists will continue in Europe unabated.

 

France’s Election and the disaffected Youth Vote

All eyes are on the May 6th second round of votes in France between the top two contenders, incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande. Their previous neck to neck showing means that they are now at the mercy of supporters of Marine Le Pen’s Front Nationale party which garnered roughly 6.5 million votes in the first round, and took the lead amongst the 18 to 24 year olds votes.

One reason for Front Nationale’s popularity amongst the youth was its campaign stance as an “anti-elite” party. France’s escalating youth unemployment crisis (currently at 23%), particularly amongst poorer youth, has created a growing segment of disaffected youth who feel that jobs should first be made available to native French, instead of the rising number of immigrants. Others have felt neglected by the mainstream parties, feeling that their vote is useless.

The second round of campaigns has seen the contenders wooing young people. Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed the creation of a youth bank for young entrepreneurs whereas the challenger Francois Hollande has promised to create 60,000 new jobs.

But why are the youth (numbering roughly 6 million) so disillusioned that they can throw their weight behind extreme parties? Sadly as DJ Taylor comments in the Independent “scratch a neo-fascist and in nine cases out of 10 you find not a racist but someone whom the contemporary world has passed by”.

It’s now upto Hollande and Sarkozy to make these young voters feel included in society because as it stands as Le Pen says the choice remains akin to choosing between the plague and cholera! Today she announced that she will cast a blank ballot. It remains to see whom if any of the options France’s youth voters will choose.