In recent weeks more than a million people have taken to the streets of Germany to demonstrate against the far-right AfD. On the occasion of these mass mobilizations, Spiegel magazine finds that sometimes when politics seems to have no answers, the people can defend democracy.

In the relevant section of the German magazine, examples of various countries where popular mobilizations managed to stop far-right extremist currents are mentioned. And Greece is among these countries.

“In the years that followed the financial crisis, a party arose in Greece that was as radical as few extreme right factions: the Golden Dawn. An aggressive party, ready to resort to violence, determined to take over the streets.

Antonis Ellinas, political science professor at the University of Cyprus, compared with his colleague Jason Lambrianou the course of Golden Dawn in the parliamentary elections of 2012, 2015 and 2019 in areas where demonstrations against it were held and in areas without corresponding actions. The two researchers also took into account the size of the cities’ population, as well as the fact that the party was particularly successful in areas with more immigrants, but also among young people.

The conclusion of the research is as follows: “Demonstrations can reduce support for far-right parties”, as the Greek states. However, during the first years the picture was clear: “The protest movements were not well organized nor did they have a wide appeal . They came mainly from the radical Left, but managed to maintain their actions for a long time”.

[…] The case of Greece is nevertheless instructive for one more reason. Ultimately, the decisive blow to Golden Dawn was probably delivered by the state, when it brought criminal charges against the party and brought its leaders to justice. “Greece never considered itself a defense republic – but under the pressure of the street this changed for the first time and in a radical way”, explains the Greek.

Today the phenomena of violence have decreased significantly and the extreme right is fragmented. The political system is now dominated by conservatives – having first separated their positions from the far right,” the German magazine concludes.

George Passas