Speculation over far-right alliances ahead of vote
As the May 21 elections draw nearer, several parties on the right of the ruling New Democracy are competing for the support of extremist voters. Amid the legal battle to prevent him from running with his newly formed National Party, there has been much speculation about the plans of Ilias Kasidiaris, the convicted leader of the now-defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.
Reports emerged on Thursday suggesting that Kasidiaris has struck a secret agreement with Nikos Nikolopoulos, the former conservative lawmaker and president of the Greek Christian-Democratic party, to join forces ahead of the election. However, sources close to Nikolopoulos have denied these claims.
Some analysts believe that collaborating with Nikolopoulos could serve as a backup plan for Kasidiaris if the Supreme Court rejects the candidacy of his primary partner, former top judge and EAN leader Anastasios Kanellopoulos.
Meanwhile, on Thursday it was reported that the Supreme Court has prohibited Konstantinos Bogdanos and Prodromos Emfietzoglou’s Patriotic Union party from participating in the election. The court upheld the appeal by another minor party, which claimed that the Patriotic Union had stolen its name, and also ruled that the party had no right to use the Vergina Sun emblem.
