Greek Parliament Illegally Cuts Golden Dawn Funding

Ekathimerini
October 24, 2013

golden-dawn-parliamentGreek lawmakers voted to cut off state funding to the far-right Golden Dawn party early on Wednesday, the latest effort by the government to clamp down on a party it has branded a “neo-Nazi criminal gang.”

Golden Dawn had steadily risen on the back of an anti-austerity and anti-immigrant agenda to become Greece’s third-most popular party, until the killing of a left-wing rapper by a party supporter last month triggered the government crackdown.

A legislative provision passed by 235 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament suspends state funding to political parties if their leaders, or a tenth of their lawmakers, are charged with involvement in a “criminal organization” or “acts of terrorism.” The move could deprive Golden Dawn of a major financial resource.

Athens has earmarked 11 million euros for elected parties in 2013, including 873,000 euros ($1.20 million) for Golden Dawn.

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