A report by the US based geopolitical private intelligence firm Stratfor, that specialises in strategy and forecasting to individuals and organisations around the world, states the politically extreme Golden Dawn party in Greece is attempting to shore up support in rich western countries like as Australia, which have large Greek communities.
The analysis released after the fatal stabbing of a left wing artist by a Golden Dawn supporter and before the fatal shooting of two Golden Dawn members by persons unknown, indicates that countries unaffected by the economic crises, such as the United States and Australia, may prove less tolerant of Golden Dawn’s nationalist and anti-immigrant dogma, than Greece itself or the rest of Europe. However, the extremist party intends to target countries such as Australia, Canada, Cyprus, the United States and Germany to further its expansionist agenda.
“By targeting Greeks living abroad, the group hopes to legitimize itself internationally and secure funds, supplies and votes for the 2016 legislative elections”, the report claims.
Specifically to Australia, Stratfor mentions that “just a month after the party’s 2012 electoral victory Golden Dawn first targeted Melbourne, Australia- Home to roughly 400,000 Greeks and one of the largest Greek communities abroad. It began a propaganda and recruitment campaign in April 2012 through the assistance of social networks to spread their word and it now boasts some 3,000 Facebook followers in Australia even before the group has yet to establish a physical office”.
The report goes on to state that “Greek Australians who opposed Golden Dawn soon began collecting signatures to pressure the Australian Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship to ban Golden Dawn members and MP’s from entering the country.
Stratfor also makes reference to Golden Dawn’s largest push abroad, namely in the United States, where most of the Greek Diaspora resides and verifies the existence of an already established chapter “Golden Dawn North America” based in Astoria, New York, as well as the intent of the extremists to open additional chapters in Chicago and Connecticut.
Other countries mentioned in the report are Canada, where in October 2012, Golden Dawn opened a branch in Montreal and now plans to open another in Toronto very shortly. In Germany the Greek extremist party is striking alliances with other right-wing German extremist groups, where last February, Golden Dawn also founded a cell in southern Nuremberg.
According to Stratfor the extremists are also making inroads in Cyprus, where the party has struck an alliance with the right-wing sister party, the National Popular Front. However, the Strafor report does acknowledge that the countries Golden Dawn is targeting are devoid of the social unrest that draws disaffected youth to its cause and therefore Golden Dawn may never become a major international political force, but it might be able to raise just enough funds and support from abroad to keep itself afloat.