In the wake of the killing of an anti-fascist and the arrest of a member of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, the Greek government is considering an array of ways to control the party that has been running amok since winning 18 seats in Parliament last year and one of the plans is reportedly to see if there is a legal way to cut off the state funding that political parties get.
Citizens Protection Minister Nikos Dendias, who has been in verbal battles with the neo-Nazis for months, has proposed a law that could stop the flow of state funds to the extremists as one way to rein them in. ,
Authorities are currently checking Golden Dawn lawmakers’ phone records as part of their investigation into the murder of rapper Pavlos Fissas by a Giorgos Roupakias, a 45-year old man associated with the party.
Dendias; bill would cease state funding to parties if their leader or more than a tenth of their lawmakers are charged with a felony carrying a 10-year jail term, his ministry said. Some 32 Golden Dawn members, including MP’s, are facing a variety of criminal charges and the government wants the party declared a criminal gang as there is no way to ban them under the Constitution.
Greek parties receive state funding when they achieve Parliamentary representation, based on their popular vote. Golden Dawn’s popularity has been growing almost with each incident of assaults and provoking violence, a phenomenon said to be worrying European Union leaders as well.
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