Greece is under the influence of an aggressive (and violent) left, which has made common cause with liberals in an attempt to eliminate every vestige of the Hellenism that is so deeply rooted in the psyche of the indigenous population.  Of course, they call it political correctness and modernization.

Following the familiar pattern of the left in the United States and Western Europe, the Greek left’s modus operandi includes a concerted effort to ply our children with the opiate of Marxism.  They continually seek to alter the content of school textbooks, even in primary education, to promote a rationalist, multicultural, and secular approach to every subject, including our glorious history.  Peoples who threaten our sovereignty, civilization, and national existence are portrayed as “friends” and “neighbors.”  Thus, such unpleasant “details” as the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 are carefully concealed—or even blamed on the Greek nationalist right—while the heroic struggle against British colonial rule (including the EOKA’s memorable stand in Cyprus) is portrayed as nationalistic, chauvinistic, and fascist.  Today, Greeks are struggling to understand why our “friends” from the east occupy a large part of Cyprus, challenge our sovereignty in the Aegean Sea, and send us hundreds of illegal immigrants every day.

After the civil war (1946-49) the right-wing urban elites were only concerned with maintaining and perpetuating their privileges, so they did not bother to counter the leftist propaganda that started spreading through neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and universities immediately after the conflict.  At the time, these sectors of society were largely conservative, having suffered at the hands of communist guerillas who inflicted massacres on civilians, especially in the rural population.  But when democracy was restored in 1974 and the Communist Party legalized, the universities quickly became left-wing strongholds and started producing the new elite.

Today, there is not a single editor-in-chief—even in what remains of the right-wing press—nor any television or radio executive who is not a leftist.  The (mainly ex-) communists now control the Greek media, deciding which concerns ought to be raised and which should be concealed from the public.  The concerns that are deemed worthy to address are presented from a singularly “progressive” and dogmatic point of view.  Thus, the transformation of Greek society continues apace.

This troublesome milieu led to violence last December, when the killing of a student by police instigated widespread riots.  Thousands of businesses in downtown Athens were destroyed.  The extreme left orchestrated vandalism and looting, which in turn led to assassination attempts on policemen, two of whom were killed.  All the while, journalists and anchormen acted as the media arm of the leftist agitators.  This is nothing new: The Greek press has always been tolerant of (if not apologetic toward) terrorist activity.  Left-wing newspapers are still happy to publish the proclamations of terrorist groups, and convicted terrorists have become columnists in mainstream papers.

During the last European parliamentary elections, the Greek people penalized the opportunists of the radical left, awarding it with only four percent of the vote.  Still, the Communist Party garnered eight percent.  And because this voting bloc of 12 percent controls most of the media, the task of convincing the citizens of Greece that the left is the problem, not the solution, remains difficult.

Fortunately, the left’s hegemony over Greek culture may soon be ending.  The European Commission is attempting to force Greece to grant state accreditation to private universities.  Naturally, the left is doing everything in its power to stand in the way of this development.  Given the current climate in European law and politics, their efforts are bound to fail.  But when they do, Athens will once again pay the price.  The left will rally and demonstrate—and more.