Far right may run in different guise
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.
Following the government’s recent legislative intervention, which attempted to exclude the party from running, there is growing concern at the Supreme Court sparked by reports that Kasidiaris may choose not to participate in a political formation as a candidate for Parliament, in order to avoid a decision that would bar his party.
Kathimerini understands that apart from Kasidiaris, the National Party itself – whose leadership was taken over by a former prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Anastasios Kanellopoulos, so that it evades a potential election ban – may also not participate in the upcoming election.
The reason for these developments is that it is considered a given that the Supreme Court will exclude the party from taking part.
Instead, Kathimerini understands that Kanellopoulos is not ruling out taking part in the May 21 elections with his own party, EAN. This particular scenario had been hinted by Kanellopoulos some time ago.
Moreover, according to information seen by Kathimerini, EAN filed its legal documents with the Supreme Court last February.
According to a judicial source, the issue is complicated and any decision by the Supreme Court becomes extremely difficult in the event that Kanellopoulos’ EAN party runs in the elections. This party, according to the same source, cannot be excluded unless there is evidence that Kasidiaris is behind it.
Kasidiaris is serving a 13-year prison sentence for membership in a criminal organization. He founded the National Party after receiving his sentence in 2020. He was convicted as a leading member of an extreme-right Golden Dawn, which carried out multiple attacks against migrants and political rivals.
