Sir, – Eoin Keehan (May 10th) points out the contradictions in 7 per cent of the Greek electorate voting for a neo-Nazi party, while many protesters make allusions to Nazi Germany while objecting to the austerity imposed on their country.
Such are the views now promulgated by the extreme right and extreme left in Greece that frightened people are willing to vote for obnoxious parties such as Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn).
It’s easier for many to blame foreigners and illegal immigrants for the country’s woes than blame themselves for voting in corrupt and incompetent politicians. George Papandreou tried to break that mould but was doomed to fail. His attempt was all the more brave as it was his father Andreas, who, in the mid-1980s, escalated “pork barrel politics” in Greece on an enormous scale.
The result is that Greece is now largely ungovernable and will, I fear, not survive in the EU, much less the euro.
I visit Greece regularly and have great affection for its people. I find it depressing that its people are turning to parties like Golden Dawn and left-wing parties that peddle obnoxious and populist views with the sole aim of getting their snouts in the trough. – Yours, etc,