(ANSA) - TRIESTE - "Once in the shadows, Europe's neo-fascists are stepping back out", New York Times said, reporting what is happening in Slovakia, where "neo-fascists are winning regional offices and taking seats in Parliament". "In Slovakia, a party with an established neo-fascist leader, Marian Kotleba, demonstrated surprising strength in last year's parliamentary elections, winning 14 seats in the 150-member chamber", Nyt added. Pre-election polls showed the People's party our Slovakia getting less than 3% of the vote, but the final result (8%) was built on strong support from young people and other first-time voters. In 2013 the party had won the governorship of Banska Bystrica, one of Slovakia's eight regions. More recent polls show support nearing 13%, Nyt said.

Kotleba used to appear in uniforms reminiscent of those worn in Slovakia during the wartime. Once he and his party got into Parliament, the uniforms disappeared and he shifted his attacks from Jews to immigrants and Roma minority. The populist mood energized the most extremist right-wing groups: "Before, pro-fascist sentiments were kept hidden. Now, you can say things in the public space that you couldn't say before", said Gabriel Sipos, director of Transparency International Slovakia. "Now, extremists and fascists are part of the system", added Grigorij Meseznikov, president of the liberal Institute for Public Affairs. (ANSA).