Slovakia: no ban for far-right
Slovakia's Supreme Court has refused to issue a ban on the far-right party L'SNS (People's Party Our Slovakia) led by Marian Kotleba, which is already represented in parliament. Explaining its decision on Monday, the court said there was insufficient evidence that the activities of the party violate basic democratic principles. The Slovakian media is disappointed by the ruling.
The ruffians are suddenly respectable
Teraz.sk sees this as a significant victory for the far right:
“The political dimension of the court case is much more important than the fight about individual clauses. The verdict will give the party a further boost. It has received confirmation that it is in conformity with the constitution. More importantly, the court has massively raised the coalition potential of the L'SNS, which was zero until now. If these people came into power it would put Slovakia in a highly dangerous situation. ... The court's decision should not just be a warning to society, but also a challenge to say where it stands and where it wants to go.”
We won't let them block our path to Europe
After the court decision Sme editor-in-chief Beata Balogová consoles herself with the knowledge that the party does not have majority backing.
“It is difficult to argue with the court's statement that a ban cannot be issued just because a party is demanding that we leave NATO and hold a referendum on leaving the EU. But the threat from the L'SNS with its anti-European rhetoric is just the start. The party's toxicity reaches far deeper and undercuts all democratic boundaries. A large amount of the population, however, has no clear opinion on Kotleba. These people want to be part of Europe, either in terms of shared values and mindset or through EU membership. We have not spent fifteen years going down this path only to let fascists block the way now.”