Greece: right-wing extremists attack students
In Greece, there have been violent clashes between students and right-wing extremist groups. Among other incidents, masked aggressors wielding batons, stones and smoke bombs attacked young people and demonstrators outside a vocational school in Stavroupoli. The conservative government under Prime Minister Mitsotakis now faces heavy criticism for being too tolerant towards the far right.
Not the first time Nazi violence has escalated
The state authorities are wrong to play down the wave of violence, Efimerida ton Syntakton criticises:
“What is surprising is the indifference of the government and the attempt by the relevant ministries and local authorities to shift responsibility onto the victims of the attacks, and to put the fascists and the anti-fascist movement on a par. This isn't the first time Nea Demokratia has tried to do this. ... This policy led to the rise of Nazi crimes in autumn 2013, the bloody attack on activists of the [communist trade union] PAME, and finally to the murder of [anti-fascist rapper] Pavlos Fyssas.”
Government playing with fire
People with far-right backgrounds are even tolerated within the government, News247 worries:
“The Mitsotakis government is courting all kinds of right-wing extremists because it needs their votes. ... A significant section of the far right is now positioned within the ruling party Nea Demokratia [above all the three ministers Plevris, Georgiadis and Voridis], which secures it a higher percentage than it would have as a 100 percent centre-right party. But to court the far right is to play with fire. The events in Stavroupoli serve as a reminder that we may have gotten rid of Golden Dawn, but the fascist threat remains.”