“Here to Stay”? Golden Dawn, From the Political Margin to the Political Foreground 1 Antonis Klapsis * “When we won 5.3% in the Municipality of Athens [in 2010], they said it was circumstantial. We told them that we are here to stay. And from Athens we will spread to all of Greece. When on May 6 [2012] we won 6.9 per cent, they said that it was rage, anger, fear, and that people are ignorant … Today, with the results of the elections, where (sic) Golden Dawn’s power remained stable at 7 per cent, it is proved that the nationalist movement is here to stay. And let them get used to it. They will be facing a nationalist movement. Both inside and outside the Parliament.” This statement by Nikos Michaloliakos, head of Golden Dawn (Chrysi Avgi), was made on June 17, 2012, on the night of national elections. His proclamation summed up the party’s electoral history until then: from political obscurity before 2010, Golden Dawn had managed to become a force to be reckoned with–and with representation in Parliament. “Golden Dawn is here to stay…Golden Dawn is the Greece of the future” Michaloliakos reiterated. (YouTube, 2012a). Two years later, the results of the European elections of May 2014 appear to confirm his prediction. Golden Dawn not only maintained its electoral influence in relation to the 2012 national elections, but increased it greatly and, what’s more, did so under seemingly adverse circumstances as almost all members of its leadership were incarcerated on allegations of establishing and leading a criminal organization. 1. I would like to thank my friends Vassilis Bogiatzis and Panagiotis Kakolyris for their useful comments on my initial paper. * Dr. in Diplomatic History and Adjunct Lecturer, Hellenic Open University and Open University of Cyprus.