Greek far-right golden dawn loses ground after murder of Left activist

Public support for the Greek far-Right Chryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn) party fell after the murder of a Left activist by one of its supporters on Wednesday, the first opinion poll conducted ever since showed on Sunday. Golden Dawn's popularity dropped to 7 percent from 8.5 percent within a day, according to the survey conducted by polling firm Metron Analysis and published on Sunday's "Ethnos" (The Nation) newspaper. The neo-fascist party entered the parliament for the first time in last year's elections with the same percentage buoyed by Greeks' anger at harsh austerity imposed to resolve a severe debt crisis which brought the country at the brink of financial meltdown. Today it still ranks third after the conservative ruling New Democracy party and the Radical Left SYRIZA which garner 19.8 and 19.6 percent of vote respectively. In other recent surveys before the fatal stabbing of Pavlos Fyssas which has shocked most Greeks, Golden Dawn was estimated to be garnering more than 10 percent. Fyssas' killing by Yorgos Roupakias, a supporter of Golden Dawn, at a Piraeus port neighborhood, has sparked a wave of strong reactions. The man who has confessed to the attack was remanded in custody this weekend after telling a magistrate that he has regretted. Although the perpetrator and Golden Dawn still deny that he was a party member, there is overwhelming evidence of his close links to Golden Dawn leading figures, according to police and media reports. As police investigates phone records indicating that a Golden Dawn MP was contacted shortly before the stabbing and other evidence, former party members speaking unanimously to local media claim that the party's president himself Nikos Michaloliakos has been in knowledge and has been orchestrating increasing attacks against political opponents and migrants. After Fyssas' death, amidst anti-fascist protests, the government and opposition political parties have expressed determination to push through measures to combat neo-Nazi extremism in Greece.