Golden Dawn

Golden Dawn rose to prominence during Greece's financial crisis of 2009, becoming the third most popular party in the Greek parliament in the January 2015 election. Its support has since plunged, and it failed to enter parliament in the 2019 election. The criminal trial against the leaders, frequently described as the largest Nazi trial since Nuremberg, lasted more than five years.[22] Nikolaos Michaloliakos began the foundations of what would become Golden Dawn in 1980, when he published the first issue of the right-wing, pro-military junta journal by the name Chrysi Avgi. In this context, Golden Dawn had its origins in the movement that worked towards a return to right-wing military dictatorship in Greece. Following an investigation into the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by a self-identified member,[23][24] Michaloliakos and several other Golden Dawn MPs and members were arrested and held in pre-trial detention on suspicion of forming a criminal organization.[25] The trial began on 20 April 2015.[26] Golden Dawn later lost all of its remaining seats in the Greek Parliament in the 2019 Greek legislative election.[27] A 2020 survey showed the party's popularity plummeting to 1.5%,[28] down from 2.9% in the previous year's elections, and a peak of 7.0%.[29] Golden Dawn is commonly described as neo-Nazi[30][31][32][33] and neo-fascist.[34][35][36][37][38] The group rejects these labels[39] and its members have expressed admiration for the former Greek dictators Ioannis Metaxas of the 4th of August Regime (1936–1941)[40][41][42][43] and Georgios Papadopoulos of the Regime of the Colonels (1967–1974).[44] They also use symbolism which is very similar to that of the Nazis, and they have also praised figures of Nazi Germany.[45][46][47] According to academic sources, the group is racist and xenophobic,[48][49] and the party's leader has openly identified it as nationalist and racist.[50] Golden Dawn has been also described as ultranationalist,[51][52][53] they support the creation of Greater Greece,[6] and they have been strongly critical of the European Union.[8][9][10][11] On social issues, they are traditionalist[54] and oppose immigration,[55] and on fiscal issues they are protectionist.[56] They have also used right-wing populist rhetorics[7] and have been accused of antisemitism,[57][58] anti-Islamism[59][60] and anti-Turkism.[61] On 7 October 2020, the Athens Court of Appeals announced verdicts for 68 defendants, including the party's political leadership. The General Secretary Nikolaos Michaloliakos and six other prominent members and former MPs, were charged with running a criminal organization.[29] Guilty verdicts on charges of murder, attempted murder, and violent attacks on immigrants and left-wing political opponents were delivered[62] and the leadership was sent to prison.[63]