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Slovakia is in a state of shock following the election of Marian Kotleba to the post of governor of the Banská Bystrica region in the centre of the country. Kotleba, who took 55.5 per cent of the vote in the second round of regional elections on November 23, is the leader of the far-right Our Slovakia (LSNS) party and the former leader of the now-banned neo-fascist Slovenská Pospolitosť (Slovak Community) movement.
Kotleba is notorious for wearing Nazi uniforms and for his racist comments, for which he has been sued several times. During the electoral campaign, he promised voters that he would "end the unfair preferential treatment accorded to parasites, and not just the gypsies."
Slovak daily SME says Kotleba's election has been prompted by —
… a mixture of hatred, powerlessness and outrage against the elites.
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