Ilias Kasidiaris

Τhe Supreme Court will on Tuesday decide the fate of the National Party founded by the convicted criminal and former Golden Dawn MP Ilias Kasidiaris.

The power of image can now replace the force of iron bars, and social networks can replace public squares for spreading rhetoric. This is evident in the popularity of Ilias Kasidiaris' anti-immigrant, racist and fascist rhetoric on social media.

A move by the far-right National Party-Greeks to remove three members of the Supreme Court's A1 Civil Section considering its eligibility to contest the May 21 election has been unanimously rejected.

National Party-Greeks was founded in 2020 by convicted criminal Ilias Kasidiaris, a former MP with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party from 2012 to 2019.

As the May 21 elections draw nearer, several parties on the right of the ruling New Democracy are competing for the support of extremist voters. Amid the legal battle to prevent him from running with his newly formed National Party, there has been much speculation about the plans of Ilias Kasidiaris, the convicted leader of the now-defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

Three former leading figures in the now-defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party were cleared of inciting racist violence in a case relating to derogatory comments allegedly made against Muslim lawmakers in Parliament in March 2018.

Fifty parties, party coalitions, and individuals submitted applications to Greece's Supreme Court for approval to run in the May 21 national elections, more than double the number of those submitted in the last general elections (24) of July 7, 2019.

Forty-seven parties, party coalitions, and individuals had submitted applications to Greece's Supreme Court by Wednesday evening for approval to run in the May 21 national elections.

Ilias Kasidiaris, the convicted leader of the now-disbanded neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, will attempt to run in the upcoming elections on May 21 with his own far-right political party.

Ruling New Democracy enjoys a 6.2-point lead over main opposition SYRIZA, according to an opinion poll conducted by Alco, on behalf of broadcaster Alpha. 

With elections nearing and the Supreme Court set to decide whether a particular party has the right to participate, the landscape remains blurry regarding the fate of the extreme-right National Party of jailed former Golden Dawn official Ilias Kasidiaris.