Right-wing attack on MP condemned

Published on 18/12/2012 00:00

Greece’s government has ­condemned an attack against a left-wing MP as “unacceptable” as it raised fears that far-right violence in the crisis-hit nation is spiralling out of control.

Dimitris Stratoulis, an MP from the hard-left Syriza party, said three men in their 30s had kicked and punched him in the head during half-time at a football game on Sunday evening.

He said the men had identified themselves as members of the far-right Golden Dawn party and had told him “We are going to kill you now”. The party denied involvement in the attack.

Simos Kedikoglou, a Greek government spokesman, said in a statement: “Any kind of attack and threat is unacceptable in our democracy. Violence has no place in our culture.”

Golden Dawn, which has been linked to violent assaults against immigrants, has surged in popularity as Greece’s economic crisis has deepened. It entered parliament this year for the first time.