Nazi-Like Golden Dawn, and Far Left Party, Would Win Greek Elections, Were They Held Today

Europe:

A regular Slog source late last night furnished me with updated opinion/voting behaviour research carried out secretly by senior political players in Greece. Astonishingly, the study has the Far Right Golden Dawn Party in first place, followed closely by the Leftist Party Syriza. 

As I predicted last month, the attempt by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to frame neo-Nazi Party Golden Dawn in the case of the murder of a young Leftist has backfired. 

The last poll from this source had GD in 2nd place. The Party has now taken over the top spot. Between 25-29th of October, 1,423 Greeks were polled about their voting intentions. Golden Dawn scored 22%, followed very closely by Syriza. New Democracy (the governing Party in Coalition with PASOK) came a very poor third. Men and older respondents are significantly more likely to vote Golden Dawn than women and the young. 

Two Golden Dawn members were murdered last week, after the Poll took place. It is likely that this will have strengthened rather than weakened sympathy among traditional Greeks for the Far Right Party. The Slog has been travelling into, out of, and around Greece since last March. 

While I am surprised by the size of the Golden Dawn revival, I am not remotely surprised by the confrontation now boiling up between the Hard Left and the Hard Right. 

Middle class and skilled working class Greeks talk openly about the possibility of Civil War and/or a military putsch. Senior professional and other well-off Greeks still seem to be living in a bubble – as are the bureaucratic and political classes.