Xenophobic Sentiments on the Rise in Greece

Racist parties like Golden Dawn are enjoying increased support

BRUSSELS – Anti-immigrant and nationalistic discourse has existed in Greece since the 1990s, say experts, but has become more radical with the economic crisis.

For Golden Dawn, the neo-facist movement that scooped 6.9 percent of the vote in the June election, the simmering discontent has proved fertile ground.

"People can now stand up in the middle of a cafeteria and start declaring without a thread of shame that they voted for the Golden Dawn," says Aristotle Kallis, a professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Lancaster University.