Golden Dawn and the Traditionalist Worker Party: Nationalist Unity
13/12/2015 21:28
Traditionalist Worker Party Chairman Matthew Heimbach and Board Member Jason Claar met Golden Dawn Party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos
From: www.tradyouth.org
Meeting with Golden Dawn the previous year was transformative for me, underscoring much of what we were doing right and also what we need to improve. Jason Claar of the Identity Vanguard and I had another opportunity to meet with them this past month. Golden Dawn is one of the most successful nationalist movements in all of Europe and the aim of the Traditionalist Worker Party is to follow their examples and have positive relations between our two nationalist movements.
Golden Dawn is a Party that was founded in 1985 in an age when both the Left and the Right alike were living high on the hog on the backs of the Greek people. For years Golden Dawn remained a small Party because the Establishment was able to use huge amounts of money from the European Union to bribe the Greek people into staying silent. “Bright” people insisted that Golden Dawn shift from their consistently third positionist platform to something more mainstream in order to win popular support, but Nikolaos Michaloliakos and his comrades didn’t budge.
They had the foresight to know that the Greek people would eventually, after a gradual process of humiliation and betrayal by the political Establishment, come to embrace their complete vision.
Now that the disastrous economic policies of both the Establishment Left and Right have bankrupted the Greek people, the immigration policies have betrayed the Greek nation and the mainstream Parties spit upon the Greek Orthodox Faith and traditional Greek values, more and more Greeks are waking up to realize that Golden Dawn, and only Golden Dawn, is the Party that fights for the best interests of Greece and her people.
The Traditionalist Worker Party had the true honor of being able to be an official guest of Golden Dawn and was able to meet with the Golden Dawn MP’s and leadership inside the Greek Parliament. It was a busy day for Golden Dawn when we arrived because outside in Athens, Greek farmers from all over Greece were protesting the governments policies of high taxation, land foreclosure, and seizures of products that were bankrupting Greek farmers, their families and local communities. The European Union and her parliamentary puppets were fleecing the Greek people and Golden Dawn were the only party standing up for the Greek people.
I attended the farmers’ protest before entering the Greek Parliament and I saw that these are normal people who have been betrayed by their government. The current government, led by Syriza, or The Coalition of the Radical Left, gained power in recent elections promising relief for working and middle class Greeks. Of course Syriza had huge tax hikes that would take effect just after the most recent elections, so many normal Greeks listened to the lying vipers of Syriza and are now paying the price.
Greek farmers were discussing with one another and the public how they work now more than ever but their crops are bringing in less money and their taxes are going up. The Leftist government has abandoned these people in favor of serving the international elites, the opposite of what a legitimate government would do. I saw sadness and outrage in the faces of the Greek farmers because they have few options and many were discussing how Syriza that very day was proposing a bill that would allow the State and banks to evict people from homes their families had lived in for centuries.
I did see hope, though. Several of the farmers were holding Golden Dawn newspapers or were wearing buttons in support of the Party. While the radical Left and the Establishment Right have sold the people out, the people are realizing only nationalists will stand up for their best interests and the future for their nation.
A coalition of farmers’ organizations were preparing to enter the Greek Parliament to meet with Golden Dawn leaders to discuss how Golden Dawn could best serve the interests of rural Greeks. It was inspiring to see organizations that the Left has long controlled coming to the nationalist perspective and opening themselves up to sitting down with Golden Dawn.
Inside the Greek Parliament, I saw how the System habitually persecutes and marginalizes nationalists. Smaller Parties than Golden Dawn were given bigger office space and better accommodations while Golden Dawn was forced into back offices. I asked one of the members how they could go to work everyday and see the politicians who illegally threw Golden Dawn members in jail and who support movements that have bombed Golden Dawn offices and assassinated patriotic Greek members. With a smile and a shrug the member responded to me, “We focus our energy on serving the Greek people while these other groups focus on destroying the Greek people. This is not about Party versus Party. It is the survival of the Greek people against those who are working to destroy it.”
While Golden Dawn is now the third largest Party, Greek law has worked to enshrine the Establishment as being able to override elections. The largest Party in Greek election is given a bonus of representatives in the Greek Parliament. This law is specifically aimed at disenfranchising the will of the Greek voters to give the approved Parties a powerful head start on their agenda. Of the 300 parliamentary seats, 50 are bonus seats awarded to the establishment against the will of the people.
While the offices were cramped, they were joyous places of bustling activity. Members, secretaries and MP’s were coming in and out on business for bills in the Parliament, correspondence from members and citizens, working out details for upcoming food drives for needy Greeks, organizing meetings for local chapters, and a whole host of activities geared towards serving the constituents of the Party.
Each office also had in it Orthodox icons of Christ, the Theotokos, and various heroic Greek Saints, something that as an Orthodox Christian spoke to me deeply. The Party and national flags on flagpoles were topped with Crosses, a true symbol of Golden Dawn fighting for the Faith, family, and folk of Greece. While the Leftist government refused to be sworn in by the Greek Patriarch as is Greek custom and has even discussed removing the cross off of the Greek flag, Golden Dawn continues its staunch defense of Greek culture and the values of an Orthodox nation.
The highlight of the trip was being able to sit down with Christos Pappas, his wife Irene Pappas, and Party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos in Mr. Michaloliakos’ office. In our nearly hourlong meeting I was able to discuss with the leadership of Golden Dawn the Traditionalist Worker Party, our ideology, our electoral and community organizing plans, and strategies and to discuss ways for our two Parties to coordinate with one another on shared issues.
Mrs. Pappas, who I had the honor of meeting on my last trip to Greece, is a heroic woman. She has been in the struggle for nationalism longer than I have been alive and has suffered alongside her husband and the comrades of Golden Dawn on both the streets and in her personal life. When I was in Greece last year her husband was in prison as a nationalist POW. Under Greek law, the government can hold you for 18 months without a hearing or evidence brought against you.
Of course the Leftist government kept the leaders of Golden Dawn under lock and key until the most recent elections until the law forced them to release our noble comrades after a year and a half behind bars. While her husband was in prison, Mrs. Pappas did not slacken at all in her fight for Greece and her sweetness and compassion for needy Greeks and working families is evident to anyone who speaks to her for even a moment.
As a mother and a leading Party member, Mrs. Pappas should serve as inspiration to all nationalist women around the world. One must not choose between family life or politics. She is a shining example of how women can be active members of nationalist movements and raise a healthy family.
Christos Pappas is not only a dedicated husband and father, but a personal inspiration of mine. His writings on nationalism, tradition, and a whole host of subjects are some of the best that have come out in recent decades. The difference between nationalists and the System was made evident during his immoral arrest two years ago.
The look of a man who will never be broken by a corrupt and evil System
Shouting out “Golden Dawn will survive. Golden Dawn forever. Long live the country,” to reporters, Christos Pappas held his head up high, knowing that he was on the right side of history. The thugs of the Leftist Greek government covered their faces for fear and shame of what they were doing. Real men hold their heads up high, cowards hide their faces, and Christos Pappas certainly falls into the category of being a true European man.
Now that he is out of prison, Christos Pappas, his wife, and all of the comrades of Golden Dawn are carrying on their struggle to fight for Greece, the only Party to do so in Greece.
Meeting Nikolaos Michaloliakos was a true honor and privilege. His work as Party leader of Golden Dawn is something I can only hope to emulate in the struggle for my people here in the United States. Mr. Michaloliakos served his nation as a soldier, receiving praise and commendation for his dedication, his skills, and his willingness to do anything in his ability to secure the safety of the Greek people. His activist career stretches decades and is the tale of a man who truly loves his God and his people.
In our meeting, we discussed ways that the Traditionalist Worker Party could emulate Golden Dawn regarding strategy, propaganda techniques and community outreach. Many of these tactics will become the central tenets of our Party as we move forward into our first election season. The leadership of Golden Dawn has built a Party against persecution from the media and the State and all odds serves their folk better than any other Party or the government itself does and we in the Traditionalist Worker Party will do the same.
As our meeting in the Greek Parliament came to a close, I was able to gift Mr. Michaloliakos with a small token of appreciation, a Traditionalist Worker Party flag for his desk, and then go with several Golden Dawn members to a Party meeting being held at a nearby Athens office.
Inside the meeting, I once again saw how Golden Dawn speaks to all classes and all demographics of the Greek people. The media of course only shows stereotypes of tough young men as Party members but the meeting hall was filled with men, women, young, old, farmers, office workers, and all different parts of Greek society. Only a Party that speaks to the soul of a people can ever gather together all elements of that people under the same banner, and Golden Dawn has done that.
The meeting went very well and was standing room only. They discussed history, ideology, and practical ways to implement these ideas within Greek society. My thanks go out to my translator who kept me in the loop for what was being said at the meeting. Afterward, I was hosted at a local comrade’s home for traditional Greek food, which was of course delicious, and left feeling the true spirit of camaraderie and community that only nationalists can share.
Going to Greece was an invigorating trip and I have nothing but praise for the work of Golden Dawn. They are the spearpoint for European nationalism. We all could learn a lot from their decades of sacrifice and hard work to become leading voices for nationalism, Faith and Identity in the 21st century. I look forward to meeting with comrades in Greece again soon and finding new ways to learn from and support the Gold Dawn.
Now it is up to us in America to take the strategies I have learned and put them into effect for our first electoral season here at home. Our Party will follow our Greek comrades in battling for Faith, family and folk against all enemies both foreign and domestic. In the future, I pray the friendship between our two Parties will only grow, cementing the idea that nationalists around the world are fighting the same enemies on the same barricades. United, we will win.
