Slovak Anti-Fascists Divided Over How to Fight Extremism

In one camp are those who take the battle to the streets, organising noisy protests and engaging in direct action. This is the traditional "Antifa" model favoured by more militant campaigners.

In the other camp are those who prefer to seek long-term solutions to the smouldering resentments that fuel far-right extremism in the first place. By playing "nice", they hope to starve fascism of the oxygen it needs to combust.

"Being nice is overrated," said Michal Riecansky, an Antifa member who organises "the Uprising Continues", an annual anti-fascist festival in the Slovak capital, Bratislava. "They are not nice, so why should we be?"

"I think that decency is the only way to fight this," counters Martina Strmenova, coordinator of "Not in Our Town", an informal anti-fascist movement in Slovakia's central Banska Bystrica region.

It is a debate that ignites passions and threatens to weaken Slovakia's anti-fascist movement just as the far right gets more sophisticated in reaching out to people across the country.

In 2013, Slovakia gained international notoriety when far-right politician Marian Kotleba pulled off a shock victory in regional elections to become Banska Bystrica governor.

Though he was defeated as governor four years later, members of his radical People's Party Our Slovakia (LSNS) went on to enter parliament in 2016, winning 14 seats in the150-seat assembly (they now have 13).

Kotleba ran for president earlier this year, losing to progressive newcomer Zuzana Caputova but nabbing just over 10 per cent of the vote. In elections for European Parliament in May, 12 per cent of voters opted for LSNS.

A former schoolteacher, Kotleba was known for marching through Slovak towns and villages in a black uniform sporting...