Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Grecia. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Grecia. Mostrar todas las entradas

jueves, 4 de abril de 2024

Canadair CL-215 griegos a ser reemplazados

Los Canadair CL-215 griegos pronto serán reemplazados por DHC-515 Firefighters.

Avions Legendaires




Si bien existen soluciones alternativas (sobre el papel) en Bélgica y Francia, Grecia lógicamente ha elegido la seguridad al elegir al país experto número uno del mundo. Las autoridades de Atenas y Ottawa acordaron la venta de siete aviones anfibios de extinción de incendios De Havilland Canada DHC-515 Firefighter. Para 2027, estos bombarderos acuáticos ultramodernos reemplazarán al actual y antediluviano Canadair CL-215. De hecho, este contrato llevaba varios meses tramitándose.

Para comprender la urgencia de la situación hay que saber que en Grecia la temporada de incendios forestales y naturales es incluso más larga que en nuestro país. Si en Francia va, aproximadamente, desde principios de mayo hasta mediados de octubre, allí hablamos más bien de mediados de marzo hasta finales de noviembre. Por lo tanto, esto deja poco respiro a las tripulaciones y menos tiempo para entrenar, pero también a los mecánicos para el mantenimiento de las máquinas. Porque si los Bombardier CL-415 griegos todavía tienen un poco de margen en general, la cuestión es completamente diferente para los antiguos Canadair CL-215 en los que cada avería o cada pieza defectuosa les exige hacer maravillas. O incluso obrando milagros.

Y cada año nos sorprende que todavía puedan volar y enfrentar las llamas. Sólo que Grecia ha decidido abordar el problema de frente y, por tanto, ha firmado un contrato con Canadá para el próximo suministro de siete nuevos aviones. El importe del cheque se anuncia en unos 490 millones de euros. Recordad que este De Havilland Canada DHC-515 Firefighter es mucho más que una evolución del CL-415, es casi un nuevo bombardero acuático. Según sus diseñadores, fue diseñado para satisfacer las demandas del calentamiento global y la alteración que éste provoca en nuestro medio ambiente mediterráneo.

Está claro que está hecho para Grecia, pero no sólo. El DHC-515 tiene su lugar bajo las marcas de nacionalidad de Croacia, España, Francia o incluso Italia. No en vano existe desde hace dos años una carta de intenciones de la Unión Europea para veintidós ejemplares de este avión... que todavía no ha volado. Observemos de paso que Atenas tuvo más coraje que Bruselas en este caso al ordenar el avión incluso antes de despegar. ¿O es simplemente confianza en la experiencia canadiense en el campo? Probablemente un poco de ambos.

El próximo proyecto de Polemikí Aeroporía, que opera la flota griega de bombarderos acuáticos, será encontrar un sucesor del avión ligero PZL M-18B Dromader de origen polaco, que también está perdiendo fuerza. Una vez más, las huellas parecen conducirnos hacia América del Norte, y más precisamente esta vez hacia los Estados Unidos. Este será seguramente el tema de un artículo en nuestras páginas.

Foto © Polemikí Aeroporía.

miércoles, 3 de noviembre de 2021

¿Grecia adquirirá 30 Eurofighters dados de baja por la RAF?

Will Greece acquire RAF’s 30 retiring Eurofighter Typhoons?

AeroTime



The Hellenic Air Force is reportedly considering the acquisition of the 30 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets of the Royal Air Force, due to be retired by 2025, according to Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the Greek Minister of Defense.

“All possible options are being considered to find the most suitable solution, in order to further upgrade the operational capabilities of the Air Force,” Panagiotopoulos said when questioned about the prospect by Kyriakos Velopoulos, president of the conservative party Ellinikí Lýsi.

Those 30 aircraft would come as a great opportunity for the Hellenic Air Force to retire the 18 antiqued McDonnell-Douglas F-4E Phantom II jets it is currently operating.

Faced with heightened territorial tensions with Turkey, Greece has been modernizing its fighter fleet. In mid-September, the Greek government confirmed that an order for six Dassault Rafale fighter jets would be placed, in addition to 18 French-made fighter jets already ordered for the Hellenic Air Force in January 2021.

The 2025 retirement of the 30 Typhoon Tranche 1 fighter jets in the sustainment fleet of the Royal Air Force was announced in early September 2021. It raised controversy as the fighter jets would be retired at just 42% of their useful life (2544.8 flying hours).

The Tranche 1 variant of the aircraft, the eldest of the four developed, is limited to the use of air-air missiles and has very limited air-ground capabilities without the use of an external pod.

viernes, 13 de agosto de 2021

USA autoriza modernización de 270 mill USD para F-16s griegos

US approves $270 million deal for Greek F-16 upkeep

By: Sebastian Sprenger ||  Defense News


 

A Hellenic Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon takes off during training at Souda Bay, Greece, on Jan. 28, 2016. (Staff Sgt. Christopher Ruano/U.S. Air Force)


WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has greenlighted a $270 million support package for Greece to keep the country’s F-16 fleet current, according to an Aug. 4 announcement.

The approved items include “engineering, technical and logistics support services” for the warplanes, in addition to training equipment, targeting upgrades and mission-planning enhancements, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote on its website.

The sale’s notional approval comes as the Hellenic Air Force is in the process of modernizing its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16s to the “V” model. The contractor claims the improvements would make it the most capable configuration of the venerable plane.

A DSCA announcement is not a guarantee of sale. Once approved by Congress, the foreign customer begins to negotiate on price and quantity, both of which can change during the final negotiations.

Athens also is boosting its Air Force arsenal with Rafale fighter jets made by France’s Dassault. The company on July 21 delivered the first of 18 jets — 12 used, six new — that Greece is slated to get under a $3 billion deal signed in January.

“The Rafale will provide the HAF with a latest-generation multirole fighter, enabling the Hellenic Republic to ensure its geostrategic stance in full sovereignty,” manufacturer Dassault wrote in a statement at the time.

The Greek defense investments come amid worsening ties with neighbor Turkey. Territorial disputes over oil and gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean flared up last year, turning an already thorny relationship outright hostile.

lunes, 14 de septiembre de 2020

Grecia interesada en 18 Rafales

Grecia interesada en adquirir 18 Dassault Rafale para su Fuerza Aérea

Hangar X

La Fuerza Aérea de Grecia anunció su intención de adquirir 18 unidades del Dassault Rafale, demostrando la continuidad de una relación con el fabricante francés, por más de 45 años

Este anuncio ilustra la fuerza de la asociación que ha vinculado a la Fuerza Aérea Griega y Dassault Aviation durante más de 45 años, y demuestra la duradera relación estratégica entre Grecia y Francia.

 

Grecia encargó 40 Mirage F1 a Dassault Aviation en 1974, luego 40 Mirage 2000 en 1985 y finalmente 15 Mirage 2000-5 en el año 2000; este último contrato también incluye la modernización de 10 Mirage 2000 al estándar 2000-5 con una gran contribución de la industria griega.

«Estoy encantado con este anuncio, que refuerza la relación excepcional que hemos tenido con Grecia durante casi medio siglo, y agradezco a las autoridades griegas la confianza depositada en nosotros una vez más», expresó Eric Trappier, presidente y director ejecutivo de Dassault Aviation.

Y agregó que, «Dassault Aviation está totalmente movilizada para satisfacer las necesidades operativas expresadas por la Fuerza Aérea griega y, por lo tanto, contribuir a garantizar la soberanía de Grecia y la seguridad del pueblo griego».

lunes, 31 de diciembre de 2018

Mil millones USD para la modernización de F-16 griegos

Lockheed Martin secures $997M contract for Greece F-16s upgrade

Air Recognition


Lockheed Martin recently secured a $996.8 million foreign military sales (FMS) contract for upgrading 84 Hellenic Air Force F-16 jets to the V-configuration, the US Department of Defense said on December 21, 2018.


Two HAF F-16 fighter jets
(Credit: HAF)


Lockheed Martin expects to complete the task by Jun 30, 2027. According to The Greek Reporter newspaper, Lockheed Martin official said in September that the first two years will be spent on engineering for the prototype and the registration of the systems. The installation on the Greek fighter jets will take place during the third year of the program, and the Hellenic Air Force pilots will be trained in the fourth year.

Greece’s government council for foreign affairs and defense, chaired by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in April approved a plan to upgrade 84 F-16 fighter aircraft to the F-16V standard through a potential $1.45 billion contract.

Greece currently employs a mix of 150 F-16s in Block 30, Block 50, Block 52+, and Block 52+ Advanced configurations.

jueves, 14 de junio de 2018

Macedonia acuerda con Grecia cambiar su nombre


Macedonia agrees to a new name, ending a 27-year dispute with Greece




Even Alexander the Great — or Alexander of Macedon — was drawn into the name dispute. This statue of the ancient warrior is in Thessaloniki, Greece. (Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP/Getty Images)

by Chico Harlan | The Washington Post

VALLETTA, Malta — Leaders from Greece and Macedonia managed a breakthrough Tuesday in one of Europe’s most intractable foreign policy fights, announcing they had agreed on a new name for a country born 27 years ago from the rubble of Yugoslavia.

If the deal goes through — and the countries still could put it to parliamentary votes or referendums — Macedonia will formally change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia, and Greece will drop its opposition to the small Balkan nation joining NATO and the European Union.

What is known in neighboring Macedonia and Greece simply as the “name dispute” has burned for years amid accusations big and small — about cultural appropriation, about national identity, about statues and museums, about airports named for Alexander the Great. Athens accused Skopje of having designs on its northern territory, which is also called Macedonia.

The agreement could help stabilize one of Europe’s poorest and most turbulent regions, one where Russia has battled for influence and discouraged countries from joining NATO. Last month, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said that Macedonia was showing “resistance” to Moscow and that he hoped talks with Greece would “bear fruit soon.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday evening in a statement that the agreement would set Macedonia “on its path to NATO membership. And it will help to consolidate peace and stability across the wider Western Balkans.”

Macedonia joined the United Nations more than 20 years ago on the Greek condition that it refer to itself internationally as FYROM — the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Still, many countries, including the United States, recognize the country by the name it uses in its constitution: the Republic of Macedonia.

Analysts say Macedonia and Greece made progress recently with the hope of having a deal in place before an E.U. summit in late June. Negotiations have been brokered with the help of diplomats from the United Nations.

The two countries are led by left-leaning prime ministers who will face domestic opposition over the name change — particularly in Greece, where Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s coalition partner in government says it doesn’t back the deal. Tsipras — who announced the deal on national television — will face reelection in the next year and a half, and polls suggest his party trails conservatives by a significant margin.

“Greece is tricky,” said James Ker-Lindsay, a fellow at the London School of Economics who studies the Balkans. “Have you taken a look at Macedonia? It’s impoverished. Landlocked. It’s not going to be a threat to Greece.”

Macedonia has tried to win Greek goodwill. This year, it removed the name of Alexander the Great from the airport in its capital.

“Concerning the [Macedonian] people, I don’t know how they will react,” said Denko Maleski, a retired law professor who was Macedonia’s minister of foreign affairs in the early 1990s. “But the government had to make this move to get out of isolation.”

sábado, 12 de mayo de 2018

Griegos actualizan sus Block 50 gastando 1.4 mil mill USD

Grécia vai atualizar seus caças F-16 por US$ 1,4 bilhão


Poder Aéreo


F-16D da Força Aérea Grega

O jornal grego Kathimerini noticiou que o Conselho de Política Externa e Defesa da Grécia (KYSEA) aprovou por unanimidade a atualização de 85 aviões de combate F-16 pelos EUA.

De acordo com um anúncio do gabinete do primeiro-ministro, a aprovação foi dada depois que o ministro da Defesa Panos Kammenos informou à KYSEA que os EUA aceitaram uma proposta grega revisada que leva em consideração os compromissos e restrições fiscais da Grécia nos próximos anos.

Kammenos descreveu a atualização do F-16 como um “grande dia para a força aérea”.

Em um tweet, o embaixador dos EUA, Geoffrey Pyatt, elogiou a aprovação como um “dia muito grande”, acrescentando que a atualização vai avançar “com base na visita do primeiro-ministro Tsipras à Casa Branca em outubro passado”.

O ministro da Defesa da Nova Democracia, Vasilis Kikilias, disse que a principal oposição foi sempre a favor de um upgrade para o F-16 e vai aguardar os detalhes do acordo com os Estados Unidos antes de comentar mais.

O principal obstáculo para o acordo foi o desacordo com a empresa aeroespacial norte-americana Lockheed Martin sobre a data de lançamento do programa e o apertado cronograma de pagamento.

A Grécia está ansiosa para atualizar sua frota para que atinja a interoperabilidade com os jatos F-35, que a Turquia já está começando a adquirir.

Detalhes do upgrade

De acordo com relatos da mídia grega, a atualização englobará 84 aeronaves Block 52+ e Block 52 + Adv, que serão atualizadas para o padrão F-16V Block 72 com um radar AESA de varredura eletrônica SABR da Northrop Grumman, computador de voo avançado, glass cockpit e outras melhorias. Os restantes 65 aviões F-16 gregos não serão atualizados.

Curiosamente, a Associated Press disse que o acordo “dará a 85 aviões F-16 da frota da Grécia capacidades similares aos muito mais avançados caças F-35, menos a tecnologia stealth”.

Todo o trabalho de atualização será realizado na Grécia pela Hellenic Aerospace Industries, e o plano atualizado poderá ser entregue já em 2020.

O pagamento será distribuído até 2027 ou 2028, com parcelas anuais limitadas a € 150 milhões (US$ 182 milhões), então o preço total provavelmente não excederá US$ 1,45 bilhão, segundo a mídia local.

Em uma notificação do congresso apresentada em 17 de outubro de 2017, a Agência de Cooperação de Segurança de Defesa dos EUA estimou o custo da atualização em US$ 2,404 bilhões, mas não está esclarecido quais opções originais a Grécia abriu mão.

lunes, 19 de febrero de 2018

Por qué tanto quilombo con el nombre Macedonia

Macedonia: What's in a name?

The naming dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has roots that go back to antiquity. The problem is that the boundaries of the region known as Macedonia have changed greatly over time.

DW




As well as Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the geographic region of Macedonia extends into Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia as well as small areas of Kosovo (which you can't quite see here).


Today's definition of the geographical region of Macedonia includes the present Greek administrative region of Macedonia as well as the whole of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). However, it also includes parts of Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and small pieces of Kosovo.


Modern Macedonia, as a geographic rather than a political construct, extends into six countries, including Kosovo

Originally, the ancient kingdom of Macedonia — or Macedon — was a relatively small part of the present-day Greek province of Macedonia. It first expanded under King Perdiccas I, then widened to take in other areas, including the three-fingered peninsula of Halkidiki and parts near to the border with present-day Albania.

Tiny kingdom achieves world domination

Neighboring areas like Thrace (which includes European Turkey) and Paeonia (the modern-day FYROM) became dependent territories of Macedonia. King Philip II went on to subdue the Greek mainland before his son Alexander the Great took the whole of Greece. Alexander would go on to conquer the First Persian Empire and extend his boundaries as far east as India.


A 17th-century map showing the extent of Alexander the Great's empire

Arguably, at this point, Macedonia's realms stretched as far as the Indus River and the Nile in Egypt. By the time Alexander was in power, though, Macedonia was very much "Hellenized" – or culturally Greek. As a result, the language, culture and genes that Alexander's empire carried eastward were Greek.

Roman expansion, then a shift east

After the fall of the Greek Empire, the Romans — who admired Alexander — used the old name Macedonia for the province encompassing much of northern Greece and the area north of it, including much of the modern-day Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The province, at least for a time, stretched westward to the Adriatic and south into central Greece.

With the breakup of the Roman Empire into East and West, this region was overrun by the Slavic invasions. An entirely new province far to the east, in modern-day Turkey, was named Macedonia by the Byzantine Empress Irene of Athens. The entire region subsequently fell to the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman root of modern boundaries

The geographic region known as Macedonia today equates to the part of the Ottoman Empire known as Ottoman Vardar Macedonia. It included Greek and Slavic areas and was split into three administrative units, but the concept of Macedonia persisted.  This remained the case for centuries and so this idea — of what Macedonia is — has stuck.

An "awakening” nationalism among ethnic Slavs in the region who identified as Macedonian took place in the late 19th century. The emergence of this Macedonian identity among the Slavs living in the region is still seen as a relatively new one.


The boundaries of Macedonia have changed, as has the ethnic makeup of the region

As the Ottoman Empire crumbled, the Slavic or western Bulgarian part of Vardar Macedonia eventually became a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia known as Southern Serbia. The area was later called Vardar Banovina (a banovina being a province of the Yugoslav kingdom). The name Macedonia was prohibited.

Macedonia's re-emergence, Greek consternation

After occupation in World War II, the old banovina was pared down and it became the People's Republic of Macedonia — subsequently the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Yugoslav authorities now sought to promote Macedonian nationalism, and the Macedonian language, which had been thought of until then as a western Bulgarian dialect, was codified.

The fact that this Macedonian language was Slavic did not go down too well with the Greeks.

With the breakup of Yugoslavia, things got worse. Athens became anxious about a movement within the new Republic of Macedonia to appropriate the legacy of Alexander the Great. Specifically, it feared the concept of a United Macedonia that could include Alexander's heartland in Greece itself.

The Greeks also accused the new republic of hijacking symbols such as the Vergina Sun – a symbol of ancient Macedonia – which feature on the new country's first flag. In 1995, the young state was forced to change its flag to feature a rayed sun instead.


The flag featuring the Vergina Sun (here in the foreground) was replaced by one featuring a rayed sun

It's the name Macedonia that rankles most with Greece, though. The new country was admitted to the United Nations only on condition that it used the provisional description FYROM. Athens insists that if the FYROM must use the name Macedonia at all, it should be preceded by a geographic qualifier such as Northern or Upper Macedonia.

As if that weren’t complicated enough, there's another meaning of the word Macedonia. In Greece and many Latin language-speaking countries, it's also a fruit salad. The name is thought to have been popularized at the end of the 18th century, referring to either the ethnic diversity of Alexander's vast empire, or the ethnic mix of Ottoman Macedonia.

A Macedonia can refer to a fruit salad as well

domingo, 4 de febrero de 2018

Grecia no quiere que Macedonia tenga ese nombre

Macedonia and Greece: Locked in naming dispute

The dispute between Greece and its neighbor Macedonia over the latter's name is still very much alive. The long-running quarrel can take on very nationalistic overtones, as Jannis Papadimitriou describes from Athens.
DW


Flags of Greece and Macedonia (Colourbox)

It was the biggest demonstration in Greek post-war history: More than a million people gathered in Thessaloniki in February 1992 to protest against a planned compromise in the dispute over the name of the Republic of Macedonia. A government crisis ensued in Athens: The conservative premier Konstantinos Mitsotakis dismissed his foreign minister, Antonis Samaras, known as a hard-liner, but then had to step down himself.

His successor Andreas Papandreou favored a hard stance and imposed a temporary embargo on Greece's neighbor. Even today, Athens still insists that the country should change its constitutionally enshrined name of "Republic of Macedonia." Greece views that name as part of its history and a threat to its northern region that is also called Macedonia.

Seeking compromise

However, Greece has since backed away from its absolute rejection. For some time now, it has accepted its neighbor's continued use of "Macedonia" in some form, and the left-wing government of Alexis Tsipras wants to stay on this path.


Thessaloniki saw a recent huge rally

"Gorna Makedonija" (Upper Macedonia) was proposed in the latest round of UN-held negotiations, and Athens has reportedly said it is prepared to vote for the name.

But now, protesters against the compromise are weighing in. At the end of January, there was a huge rally in Thessaloniki, and on Sunday Athens is the backdrop for a similar one. The counter-movement behind the rally, which calls itself "Macedonian Associations," says it wants to protect the traditions of Greece's Macedonian region.

"It is a patriotic gathering," Georgia Bitakou, the initiative's spokesperson, said in a TV interview. "The name Macedonia is non-negotiable."

Tolerance for nationalism

The re-emergence of such demonstrations is typical of a part of Greek society, the political scientist Levteris Koussoulis told DW. "Some here feel connected to this history in a strangely backward way," he said. "They are stuck in the past and don't understand that the world has moved on."

There is also concern that right-wing populist and nationalist voices may join the protests. Parliamentarians from the far-right Golden Dawn party already took to the streets in Thessaloniki but stopped short of making political statements. Their presence would be tolerated at Sunday's protests in Athens should they appear, said rally organizer Bitakou, adding that the rally was open to all who wanted to "defend" their country.

Other right-wing representatives also plan to take part, such as Kyriakos Velopoulos, a former parliamentarian for the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) and now the head of the pro-Russian movement "Greek Solution."

"The Americans want a protectorate north of Greece to keep Russian interests in check," he told a local TV broadcaster. He said there were just two solutions to the quarrel with the Republic of Macedonia: either no compromise name, or Greece should strive to have a common border with Serbia, which sits above the Republic of Macedonia.

When asked by the journalists whether he would be prepared to see a war between Greece and Macedonia on this account, Velopoulos responded: "Of course not — economic war is also an option."

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos is among the right-wing populists against a compromise in the dispute, although he has remained largely silent on the issue. While he is out of the country during Sunday's protests, he said he had encouraged his family to participate. Supporters of his party would take part as "ordinary citizens," he added.

Kammenos, as a junior partner in Tsipras' ruling coalition, faces a dilemma: If he refuses to budge, the coalition's fragile parliamentary majority will be put at risk, but toeing the government's conciliatory line would disappoint his own followers.


Matthew Nimetz is the UN Special Representative in the naming dispute

Outlet for popular anger

The organizers are at least prudent enough not to allow any out-and-out right-wingers onto the podium on Sunday. The main speakers that have been announced so far are the constitutional expert Jorgos Kassimatis and the composer Mikis Theodorakis.

In a recent public statement, Theodorakis, a left-wing idol, warned against backing down in the naming dispute. "The memory of Yugoslavia is fresh; our country will be the next victim," he said. Theodorakis has lately drawn attention to himself with anti-Semitic remarks, among other things, and the fact that he, at 92, is being roped in for a patriotic rally has been observed unfavorably by some commentators.

Political scientist Koussoulis said he does not see Sunday's protests as specifically nationalist in nature. "The movement has nationalistic roots, but is supported and interpreted by many people from many backgrounds," he said. "It's a way to protest the government in general."

Is the issue of the naming dispute being used as a chance to vent anger against the left-wing government of Tsipras? That seems possible. "I'll be there on Sunday because I want to protest against government policy," said the conservative radio host Aris Portosalte.

Conservative opposition leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has not gone so far and said that people should decide for themselves whether to demonstrate on Sunday or not. He declined to say whether he would take part himself.

domingo, 8 de junio de 2014

Algunos nunca aprenden: Amanecer Dorado, el partido nazi de Grecia


Canciones de las SS y antisemitismo: la semana en que Amanecer Doradi se volvieron abiertamente nazi
Los partidarios del partido de extrema derecha dio el saludo de Hitler y cantaron la canción de Horst Wessel frente al Parlamento la semana pasada. Helena Smith informa desde Atenas sobre cómo Golden Dawn ha tomado un nuevo tono siniestro

Helena Smith, The Guardian


Los partidarios de Golden Dawn ondean  banderas del partido y nacionales griegas durante una manifestación frente al Parlamento el 4 de junio. Fotografía: REX / LOSMI Chobi

Ha sido una mala semana para la democracia en Atenas. Todo alrededor de esta gran ciudad griega, la política del odio ahora están al acecho. El viernes me dieron un gusto de él en la pequeña cafetería de estilo italiano que frecuento lado de la plaza Syntagma.

Llegó en forma de dos hombres de mediana edad, ambos partidarios de la Golden Dawn neofascista - y, por su propia cuenta, los tenedores de títulos universitarios, muy viajado y bien informada. Durante espressos, comenzaron a participar en una animada discusión acerca de todo lo que es malo en Grecia.

El primero, un hombre de negocios auto-describe ataviado con traje de diseñador, zapatos gruesos y corbata de seda, culpó el colapso económico del país sobre la malversación, la corrupción y la inmigración incontrolada. "La única manera de enseñar a nuestros políticos de inmundicia es traer a la Golden Dawn", que trinó, con los ojos fijos en una mirada feroz. "Estos señores son patriotas, nacionalistas griegos orgullosos, y saben cómo hacer frente a la escoria, los extranjeros que no pagan impuestos, que roban nuestros puestos de trabajo, que se han apoderado de nuestras calles."

Descartando los cargos que Golden Dawn es una banda de delincuentes haciéndose pasar por un grupo político, el segundo - un empleado del gobierno describe a sí mismo - dijo la era de extrema derecha la mejor respuesta todavía a la gran conspiración judía de un sistema bancario más interconectado que ha llegado con la globalización. "No nos olvidemos de todos los maricones y los Judios, los pajeros que controlan los bancos, los extranjeros que están detrás de ellos, que vinieron y follada Grecia", ha insistido. "Los criminales que nos han gobernado, que nos han robado nuestro futuro, de nuestros sueños, es necesario un gran porrazo."

El pasado miércoles Grecia tiene esa sacudida cuando Nikos Michaloliakos, líder de Amanecer Dorado encarcelado - quien está acusado de asesinato y asalto - hizo su primera aparición pública en casi nueve meses. La política del odio se hizo cargo de Atenas como de 58 años de edad, fue llevado ante el Parlamento, antes de la votación para levantar su inmunidad, por otros cargos de posesión ilegal de armas.

Envalentonado por su reciente éxito en las elecciones europeas y locales - en la que el partido surgió como fuerza política tercero más grande del país, gracias a un ablandamiento de la imagen que ha atraído cada vez más creciente número de la clase media - los extremistas llevaron a casa el mensaje de que ellos no sólo eran en el rebote, pero llegó para quedarse. Y como ellos no tenían consideración por la casa de la democracia, injuriaban otros diputados en un despliegue sin precedentes de la violencia y la vulgaridad, no había duda de lo que la Golden Dawn es: un grupo de credo neonazi decidido a derrocar el orden democrático. Porque, lejos de ser contrito, Michaloliakos esposado estaba en el estado de ánimo inusitadamente agresiva, dando el saludo nazi, diciendo al presidente de la Cámara que "se calle", e instruir a los guardias que quitar las manos de encima.

En el exterior, los partidarios camisa negra de la Golden Dawn, alineados en formación militar en la Plaza Syntagma, dio una interpretación abundante de la canción de Horst Wessel nazi - aunque con letras griegas. Todo esto estaba muy lejos de los recientes esfuerzos del partido para distanciarse de la matonería y la retórica racista de la que nació.

"Que la democracia día se sentía un poco débil", dijo Pavlos Tzimas, un comentarista político que ha visto el ascenso de la fiesta desde sus inicios grupo marginal a principios de 1980. Ha visto crecer a partir grupo marginal al partido mayoritario en las últimas tres décadas. "Después de todas las revelaciones [sobre la actividad criminal], después de todos los procesos judiciales en contra de sus diputados, que todavía tiene el descaro de actuar de tal manera, en las escenas de odio que, francamente, no puedo recordar nunca ser visto dentro del parlamento" suspiró. "Golden Dawn no es una fase pasajera, no va a desaparecer con el final de la crisis, se siente intocable, que no teme a nada, y lo que vimos esta semana es su verdadero rostro. No es como otros partidos extremistas en Europa. Es es una verdadera fuerza neonazi cuyo objetivo es utilizar la democracia para destruir la democracia ".

La represión contra la Golden Dawn - desencadenada por el asesinato de un rapero antifascista a manos de un confeso partido de cuadros en septiembre pasado - estaba destinado no sólo para llevar a los delincuentes ante la justicia, pero revertir ascenso imparable del grupo. Al principio, el resumen de los líderes del partido pareció hacer mella en la popularidad de los ultranacionalistas. Por primera vez desde junio de 2012, cuando fue catapultado hacia el parlamento con el 6,9% de los votos y 18 diputados, sus calificaciones bajaron. Pero en una pantalla alarmante de la rehabilitación, los neofascistas ganaron un 9,4% de los votos en las elecciones europeas, el 25 de mayo y, en la carrera por la alcaldía de Atenas el 18 de mayo, fueron apoyados por el 16,1% del electorado, aunque su candidato , Ilias Kasidiaris, luce una esvástica tatuada y agredido dos mujeres políticas de izquierda durante un programa de televisión en directo. En ambos casos los resultados fueron el respaldo más chocante todavía del partido anti-liberal.

Lo que preocupa a Tzimas mayoría no es más que el engrosamiento de debate público, pero la "banalización de la violencia", que ahora está acechando Grecia. "Parece que estamos acostumbrando a ella, y eso me asusta", dijo.

En un clima político explosivo, donde la furia popular es en el punto de casi cinco años en la peor crisis del país en la memoria viva de ebullición, la política del odio tan encarnados por Golden Dawn se está convirtiendo cada vez más penetrante. "A quién le importa si seis millones de Judios fueron exterminados?" -preguntó el hombre de negocios de nuevo en el café, en un aval impactante de esa realidad. "No me importa si ellos fueron convertidos en jabón. Lo que me importa es el sueldo que he perdido, los impuestos interminables me veo obligado a pagar, los criminales que gobiernan este país, la rabia que llevan dentro."

En un estudio mundial publicado por la Liga Anti-Difamación el mes pasado, Grecia en el 69% se encontró que era el país más antisemita de Europa.

"Esta es la explicación más profunda para el crecimiento de la Golden Dawn", dice Dimitris Psarras, autor de La Biblia Negro de la Golden Dawn, que narra el meteórico ascenso de la fiesta. "Grecia tiene profundas diferencias culturales con el resto de Europa. Después de la segunda guerra mundial, que no se sometieron a la democratización real, porque tuvimos una guerra civil [1946-1949]. Y después de que el estado profundo nunca fue purgada [de elementos de extrema derecha]. Incluso cuando era un pequeño grupo, la Golden Dawn tenía vínculos con el Estado griego ".

Fildeo del partido de dos generales retirados en su billete elecciones europeas fue testimonio de esos lazos. Con tres Golden Dawn eurodiputados ahora a punto de tomar asiento en Bruselas, la cuestión candente para muchos es cómo hacer frente a los extremistas. Tras los comicios, el líder del Frente Nacional, incluso de Francia, Marine Le Pen, descartó las relaciones con ellos.

El diputado independiente y novelista prominente Petros Tatsopoulos, a sí mismo el foco de gran parte de la furia de los fascistas en el parlamento la semana pasada, cree que no hay otro camino que el de la prohibición de la Golden Dawn. "Fue un gran error histórico por parte de nuestro Parlamento no deslegitimar Golden Dawn", dijo Tatsopoulos, hasta hace poco un MP con la izquierda radical. "Debería haber sido prohibida, no por su ideología nazi, sino porque es una fuerza paramilitar ... que, si pudiera, sería seguir adelante con un golpe de Estado", dijo a The Observer. "Sabemos cómo funcionan estas personas. El veneno fascista que Grecia está experimentando no es sólo político, está envenenando todos los aspectos de la vida social, la forma de pensar, la manera en que se comportan. Creo sinceramente que los 500.000 griegos que votaron a favor de Oro Amanecer eran muy conscientes de lo que estaban haciendo ".

No fue la democracia en su propio lugar de nacimiento ahora bajo amenaza? "Golden Dawn está en stand-by," él afirmó. "No sé cuánto tiempo va a tomar, pero si esta ceguera voluntaria continúa, si la crisis continúa, será una verdadera amenaza para la democracia en el futuro cercano."