Greek deputy PM says Golden Dawn.....................................

Support for Golden Dawn fell by 4% following the death of Pavlos Fyssas

AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI

Golden Dawn has threatened to pull its 18 MPs following investigation into the party’s alleged criminal activities

Greek deputy PM says Golden Dawn would not benefit from forced elections

by

Elena Ralli

26/09/2013 - 11:30am

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Greek far-right Golden Dawn party would not benefit from forced elections if it decides to walk out of parliament, Greece’s deputy prime minister Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday. Golden Dawn has denied promoting a neo-Nazi mentality and threatened to pull its 18 MPs as a means to force political change.

As Venizelos told the Reuters news agency: "This is a kind of political suicide for them.” And added: "It's not a threat. It's a great opportunity."

Golden Dawn member confessed to killing leftist activist

Golden Dawn that entered the Greek parliament for the first time last year is often described as a neo-Nazi party, since it allegedly organizes violent attacks on immigrants and its members are often spotted giving Nazi-style salutes.

However, the fatal stabbing of a leftist activist last week at the port of Piraeus has caused great upheaval since a member of the far-right group has confessed to killing Pavlos Fyssas. Golden Dawn is denying any connection to the murder.

Nevertheless, due to this incident, the Greek state has ordered a thorough investigation into the activities of the party in order to determine whether they are legal or not. Investigators are looking into the possibility of Golden Dawn being involved in criminal activities such as illegal fundraising and links to the underworld.

Golden Dawn threatens to pull its MPs

According to Greek media reports, the party is opposing the investigation and has threatened to pull its members from parliament, thus forcing new election.

However, Venizelos pointed that following the death of the leftist activist, Golden Dawn’s popularity has fallen significantly and this can be a chance for all other parties to unite against the far-right group. As he said: "It's a great opportunity for the so called constitutional spectrum to organizes a unified reaction against Golden Dawn."

Following the stabbing incident, polls showed that support for Golden Dawn fell by 4% points to 6.8%. Also, 80% of Greeks said such violent acts were a threat to democracy.               new  Europe