Falling Back, 24. Justice Does Work

Greece's Golden Dawn has turned overcast today. 

Golden Dawn is a Greek extreme right political party that appeared in the 1980's as a nostalgic attempt to take Greece back to the right wing policies of the colonels, which ran the country in the late 60's and early 70's, after routing the monarch, and created a short-lived dictatorship until 1974, when democracy was restored. Golden Dawn became a political party in the early 1990's, and its goal was to create a "Greater Greece", by occupying parts of adjoining countries, including the European section of Turkey and the city of Istanbul. It also wanted to hellenize those areas, by casting out minorities, especially Muslims.

In this century, however, it went after refugees and immigrants of all kinds. It also raised its voice in criticism of the harsh impositions by the European Union during the recession, which led to winning followers, and seats in the Greek parliament, where they became the third most powerful party. But, slowly, Greeks decided that it was not representative of what they wanted, and they lost all the parliamentary seats it had, last year. 

Their involvement in hate crimes against immigrants, and the murder of a Greek rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, brought them before the bench. Today, a Greek court ruled that it was a criminal organization. It also ruled several members guilty of Fyssas' murder. They all now face jail.

Ever since the end of the Second World War, the ugliest manifestations of nationalism have kept close to the ground. Spain's continued, though, and despite its supposed "death", it never went underground. It was frowned upon, perhaps, but it was always there. There was no need of an economic downturn, or a large immigrant community to set it off. 

If one went around the villages these years since Franco's death, and talked to the older people, especially in Galicia, one would see he was still revered, if only out of a sense of atavistic fear lest he return from the dead. In larger cities, love of Franco depends on different factors, such as income, or economic security. Those who feel their wealth is threatened, however great or small it is, want a strong hand against change, against anything that might take their security away from them.

There have been far right parties in Spain since the Transition in the late 70's, but none have gone as far as Vox, which was founded in 2013. Interestingly, its initial funds were over nine hundred thousand euros donated by supporters of People's Mujahedin of Iran, a group in opposition to the Islamic Republic, but which has been described as a cult by people who have left it, not without difficulty. Vox is also suspected of (and probably guilty of) irregular financing and irregularities within its system of electing candidates. 

The rest of the world once followed the example of the city states of Greece, and implemented types of government in which the common people participate in their own governance. Perhaps now, they will also follow their example of bringing to light, and punishing, the injustices of the extreme right wing, before that extremism gets too powerful. 

Life continues.