Kasidiaris in First Place in Athens Mayoral Race

CofCC
December 23, 2013

The Greek government has voted to deny Golden Dawn it’s share of public funding. This is a direct violation of Greek law and represents a strong turn away from Democracy towards Totalitarianism. Several Golden Dawn leaders have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to intimidate immigrants. They have even charged elected members of the Greek parliament.

Ilias Kasidiaris is a Golden Dawn spokesman and a member of the Greek Parliament. He is a former member of Greek Special Forces. He is also one of the Golden Dawn members who is facing criminal charges. He is the Golden Dawn candidate for mayor of Athens.

In late August, Ilias Kasidiaris came in second place in a major poll with 19%. He was only one point behind the New Democracy candidate. He has remained very popular. In late September he was polling 20-22% with New Democracy at 17-19%. The candidate for the Panhellenic Socialist party was polling 13-15%.

In a recent non-scientific online poll, Ilias Kasidiaris received 55.5% of the vote.

New Democracy is the center-right party. What will kill Golden Dawn’s chances is if they end up in a run off with New Democracy. The left will mobilize behind New Democracy. If Ilias Kasidiaris ends up in a run off against the far-left Syriza, they could actually win.

Athens has become a the center of illegal immigration and urban decay. Immigration is the number one issue in the race. Ilias Kasidiaris has become a sort of far-right “bad boy.” The more the media attacks him, the more popular he gets.

Nationwide, Golden Dawn is polling 13%. The right-wing/eurosceptic Independent Greeks is polling 4%. That party was founded in February of 2012 be a politician who was expelled from New Democracy. Indecision and is also high. 9.5% say they are undecided, and another 8.5% say they don’t support anyone.

The two most popular parties are the center-right New Democracy with 21.5% and the far-left SYRIZA at 20.5%.

The right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally used to be the main right-wing party in Greece. It holds 2 of Greece’s 22 seats in the EU. It still holds many seats in regional government. However it failed to meet the threshold to win seats in the Greek parliament in 2012. Independent Greeks and Golden Dawn appears to have siphoned off much of it’s support. Independent Greeks have been on the decline since receiving 10% of the vote in May of 2010.