COMMENT: The Eurozone crisis and the advance of fascism in its afflicted nations has afforded us some telling imagery. Mussolini took the name for his “Corporate State” from the fascis–a bundle of rods bound together with an axe head joined to it.
In the wake of the formation of the provisional government [1] in Greece, we looked [2] at the inclusion of doctrinaire fascists in that government.
Of particular interest here is Makis “The Hammer” Voridis, the new Greek minister of Infrastructure and transportation.
Seen at left as a law student in the 1970’s, Voridis earned his nickname by carrying a homemade weapon with which to attack fellow students with whose politics he disagreed.
In the incisive Mark Ames post [3], the weapon is variously described as a “hammer” and an “axe,” and may be viewed in magnification in the center panel.
The similarity between the axe head of the fascis and Voridis’ chosen instrument of destruction is eerie.