Golden Dawn’s number two denies party’s Nazi ideology

The political trial of the extreme-right Golden Dawn continued Tuesday, with Christos Pappas, the party's number two, declaring that his "conscience is clear" and dismissing an old photograph of him and his young son performing the Nazi salute, saying they were "having a laugh."
Pappas, who has been close friends with party leader Nikos Michaloliakos for decades, played down old articles of his praising Nazism as "writings of my youth" and distinguished GD's ideology as "popular nationalism" as opposed to "nationalism socialism."
Pappas said he had never received encouragement from anyone, including Michaloliakos, to use violence. Michaloliakos is expected to testify on November 6.