Far-right parties have made a political comeback in Greece’s election on Sunday, according to AP News.
The center-right New Democracy party won a landslide victory on Sunday, handing conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis a second term as Prime Minister.
Mitsotakis inflicted a stinging defeat on their main rivals, the left-wing SYRIZA party, while three smaller parties were set to gain national representation.
They include the Spartans and the ultra-religious Niki party which has a base of support on the fringes of the Greek Orthodox Church and gained a following over its opposition to the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program. The nationalist Hellenic Solution was returned to parliament.
The newly created far-right Spartans party won almost 4.7% of the vote on Sunday, crossing the 3% threshold to enter parliament. They are set to win 13 seats in the 300-member parliament.
The Spartans only emerged as a political force this month when the Greek Supreme Court banned another far-right party, the Greeks, and its jailed founder, Ilias Kasidiaris, threw his weight behind them.
Kasiadaris had been the spokesman for neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and is currently serving 13 years in prison for membership in a criminal organisation.
Vassilis Stigas, the Spartans leader, publicly thanked Kasidiaris for his support in remarks late on Sunday.
“We will represent Greek ideals and values in the next parliament, values that are currently absent,” Stigas said.
Source: AP News.
