Evola poised to enter Greek parliament?

As Greece's economic and political crises worsen, a previously marginal neo-Nazi group, Golden Dawn, is becoming ever more prominent, and is currently expected to win some seats in the Greek parliament in the forthcoming general election. And the first book on the "books" section of the Golden Dawn's website is their Greek translation of Julius Evola, Essays on Tradition and the Modern World (shown right).

The label "neo-Nazi" is often used in polemic rather than analytic fashion, but in the case of the Golden Dawn its use is justified. The Golden Dawn's party emblem (shown below, left) resembles the swastika, party members use the fascist salute, and Joseph Goebbels is also to be found in the books section of their website, along with many of the works of Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the Golden Dawn's leader and a member of the Athens City Council since the municipal elections of November 2010, in which the Golden Dawn received 5% of the vote, a significant increase on the 0.29% they received in the 2009 general election.

It may be assumed that what is proving most attractive to some Greeks in the Golden Dawn's platform is its forthright objections to Greece's subjugation by EU memorandum, as a result of the intersection of the  activities of irresponsible and corrupt Greek politicians with the global financial markets. One does not have to be a neo-Nazi to see some truth in that analysis. Added to this is the firm anti-immigrant position that is common to neo-nationalist parties across Europe, and has proved popular from France to Denmark. A third element is nationalistic, standing against America and Greece's familiar local enemies, Turkey and those who attach the name "Macedonia" to what is now officially called the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia."

These are the positions that emerge most clearly from a review of the Golden Dawn's website. However, the influence of Evola can also be found, though not so prominently. He is, as has been said, on the book list. Condemnation of modernity and of "the modern world" appears in the archive of "ideological texts," and the penultimate (11th) point to which members commit themselves is to "honor and respect Tradition." They also accept that "nationalism is the only absolute and real revolution because it seeks the birth of new ethical, spiritual, social and psychic values." We learn that the Golden Dawn's Youth Movement "is not a simple political formation, and requires of members a particular way of life based on honor, morality and virtue."

Evola, then, seems to be of importance to the Golden Dawn, if not to the platform that may be about to bring it into the Greek parliament. And Evola is also read elsewhere in Greece: although Essays on Tradition and the Modern World is the only book of Evola published by the Golden Dawn, Greek translations have been published elsewhere of The Aryan Doctrine of Battle and Victory (1985), The Metaphysics of Sex (2006), Revolt against the Modern World (2009), The Doctrine of Awakening (2010), and Orientamenti (2011).

My thanks to the Russian blogger Evolist for bringing this to my attention.