Despite months of prosecution as a criminal organisation and the incarceration of many of its MPs, the neonazi Golden Dawn party saw a dramatic rise in its polling numbers in Athens, where its political support is concentrated.

Ilias Kasidiaris 16.1 per cent showing in the Athens mayoral race may not have been the upset that Golden Dawn hoped for by making it into the second round, but it was a stunning and alarming rise from the party’s 2012 showing in the city of Athens, which was a mere 7.81 per cent.

In Attica, where the neonazi party leader Nikos Michaloliakos garnered 7.9 per cent in the last general election in 2012, Golden Dawn candidate Ilias Panagiotaros won 11.13 per cent.

But in certain of the more working class areas of Athens, Golden Dawn saw its numbers soar.

In the capital’s fourth electoral ward, which includes Akadimia Platonos, Kolonos and Sepolia, Golden Dawn placed first, with a whopping 20.7 per cent of the vote.

In the sixth electoral ward, which includes neighbourhoods with populous migrant communities such as Kypseli and Patisia, Golden Dawn clinched 18.8 per cent of the vote.

But even in certain middle and upper income areas, such as Ampelokipoi and Kolonaki, the extreme right party garnered a notable 14 per cent and 13.7 per cent, respectively.

However in Piraeus, in which Golden Dawn has organised cells of support and organised assault squads, the party had a drop in support, possibly because of the murder of leftwing rapper Pavlos Fyssas last September.

There, Golden Dawn candidate Nikos Kouzoulos won only 5.68 per cent of the vote, compared to the 8.26 per cent it got in the 2012 general elections.
After Attica, Golden Dawn polled best in the Peloponnese (8.96 per cent) and Central Greece (9.01 per cent) regions. In all 13 regions, the party managed to win around 455,000 votes, which is more than number they won in the May (440,966, or 6.97 per cent) and June (426,025, or 6.92 per cent) elections in 2012.

Golden Dawn’s worst performing regions in Greece are Crete (3.35 per cent), Epirus (3.94 per cent) and Western Macedonia (4.71 per cent).

While the counts are ongoing, the party seems to have increased its share to about 7.5 per cent. It’s deeply worrying for any democratic society, but it’s not the breakthrough the Golden Dawn and its supporters were predicting ahead of the elections.

Source: enetenglish