Golden Dawn Sweep Gives Greek Brief Boost

ATHENS - Greece's crackdown on the country's far-right Golden Dawn party, with the weekend arrest of the group's top leadership, is a needed fillip for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' fragile coalition government. But the boost may be temporary if the social problems that fueled the group's rise - unemployment, corruption, collapsing public services - aren't soon addressed by a government not many Greeks support, analysts say. And correcting those issues could take some time. 'There will be some political gains for the government and particularly Mr. Samaras, but after that, if the economy continues to stumble, those benefits will evaporate and the Golden Dawn phenomenon will return,' said John Dimakis, a political analyst at Athens-based consultancy STR. 'The crackdown on Golden Dawn won't bring jobs, or investments, or growth. And Golden Dawn is an expression of social needs that the political system right now can't cover.'

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