The name is absent

118

supported protest was yet to come in December, 2008. I will discuss this event at length
in chapter five.

Local, Extreme: A Word on the Edges and Evolution of the Greek Political
Sphere

One of the most striking qualities of Contemporaiy political life in Greece is this
pointed anti-establishment sentiment that divides the youth population and the older
generation. While both groups are increasingly critical and inattentive to formal publics,
the youth have come to harbor a sense of negativity towards the state itself which
anarchists tap into and, based on an understanding of youth sociality, subsequently take
advantage of to mobilize supporters. However, the older generation does not share this
contempt for politics and political parties, although that is not to say political
participation among the mainstream hasn’t changed. As indicated by the recent
campaigns of the various political parties in Greece, public attention is now split between
issues of both national importance and of local relevance; perhaps the latter serving to
index the party’s broader ideological positioning while the latter speaking to the issues
that influence actual voting practice. Whereas sovereignty, the EU, and the role of the
church are still important nation-level concerns, it is debates over immigration policy,
local economies, jobs and education that win votes. Local experience is therefore
paramount here. Consider the following.

As I have mentioned above, the dominant parties that make up the mainstream
ends of the political spectrum are the center-left Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement
(PASOK) party, and the center-right New Democracy (ND) party. Between and beyond
these parties, and yet still within the Greek political mainstream (unlike anarchy and anti-

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