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Perhaps we believed that democracy in Greece was guaranteed or at least that there were no enemies who could pose a threat to it. As we now see, this is not really the case, since small parties winning just 0.2 per cent of the votes can grow into parties that win 7, or even 10 per cent of the votes. Therefore, it is our responsibility as citizens to judge wisely, to be actively involved and demand that institutions function properly and thus win our confidence. When things start happening in this way, extremism will only be pushed to the periphery of a democracy. Yet, when extremism begins to occupy a larger space, this is a signal that there is something wrong with such democracies.

In addition, there will always be suspicious citizen, who believe that bans are an instance of stigmatization and in such cases, a ban could favour extremist forces.

Democratic processes are complex in nature since democracies are systems whose qualities can only be confirmed through their day-to-day performance.

Do you reckon that the charges against Golden Dawn MPs will hold up in court?

I think so. In the beginning, I was not so positive about it, yet, if we take into account even only the charges which gained publicity, and which seem to be only a small part of their activity, I think there will be a process. Obviously, all these measures the institutions undertook were not in vain.

From my point of view as a citizen, what I understand is that these charges are totally reasonable. I have been doing research on Golden Dawn and I am aware of its forceful methods, yet many of the facts which became public were surprising even to me.

In my opinion, it is really an extremist mechanism, organised after a para-military model, and does not match the criteria to be defined as a political party. Therefore I believe that the actions of the judiciary authorities are right and the end of the investigation will reveal the whole truth about Golden Dawn. 

The coalition itself is a direct witness of the murder of Pavlos Fyssas. The organs of justice are now investigating to what extent the executives of the organisation have been involved in this as well as in other crimes. I think we were late in applying the law in the Golden Dawn case.

What do you think was the reason for that delay? There are opinions, that the activity of the organisation was in some ways in favour of the so-called system and therefore no measures were taken earlier.

I am quite careful with suggestions which are close to various conspiratorial theories.

What I can say for sure is that we underestimated the phenomenon Golden Dawn. The organisation has existed in this form and has been applying its methods for years, yet its small percentage in the elections and its barely noticeable organised presence were the reason why institutions underestimated it.

I realise this is not a comprehensive explanation, yet it is an important reason. Even when the leader of Golden Dawn, Nicos Michaloliakos, was elected member of the municipal council of Athens in 2010, nobody considered that to be a serious issue either in terms of politics, or from a scientific perspective.

Besides, the party was not easy to recognize everywhere. People from the northern suburbs of Athens or various cities in the country did not see that organisation. That must have been part of its strategy to establish its fortresses in specific regions where it would find supporters with its specific features. That is to say that it was not by accident that the party was especially active in the heart of Athens, where a large number of new immigrants were concentrated, people of different colour and origin who found it harder to integrate than it was for the first wave of immigrants. Those people did not see their future in Greece but viewed it rather as a transit country.

All this was a good opportunity for Golden Dawn whose ideology is based in xenophobia and racism. Golden Dawn found its supporters there and it also enabled part of the people who were in that fortress to express their attitudes by voting in favour of the party. Michaloliakos then won just over 10,000 votes in Athens. And the percentage which was not small accounted for only a third of the votes in favour of Kasidiaris in this year’s local elections.

In comparison, in the parliamentary elections in 2009, only a year before the local elections in 2010, Golden Dawn won 20,000 votes in Greece. Only a year later, it won more than 10,000 votes in the municipality of Athens alone, and 35,000 votes in the latest elections.

After the arrest of the leaders of Golden Dawn the party is represented by Ilias Kasidiaris. He is constantly talking about ‘violating the democratic order’, and uses the rhetoric of the ‘system’ he claims to be fighting. Why do you think he is doing this?