The party has simply stepped in where the Greek state – long plagued by inefficiency and corruption – has retreated, providing basic welfare and other services to desperate citizens, while engaging in unprecedented violence against people who are or look like immigrants. One way that Golden Dawn attempts to embody the state is by having party members out on the streets as vigilantes.
金色黎明的成功并不表明希腊人深深地渴望回归专制。该党只是抓住了希腊国家政府——长期以来饱受低能和腐败困扰——的弱点，向绝望的公民提供基本福利和其他服务，同时还参与了前所未有的针对貌似移民的暴力活动。金色黎明强调希腊的一种方式是派党员走向街头充当义务治安维持员。