SCOTSMAN: CLAD in black trousers, waistcoats and caps, the Hungarian Guard stand to attention and pledge to defend their nation.
Then, in scenes reminiscent of Europe's dark past, they march with flags and banners flying, hoping to be the trailblazers of a Hungarian nation reborn.
The guard, the uniformed wing of the small political party Jobbik, are also the vanguard of a resurgent and confident extreme right wing, aiming to make gains across central Europe in next month's European parliament elections.
Jobbik – short for Movement for a Better Hungary – aims to scoop 10 per cent of the national vote as polls across the continent open from 4-7 June.
In the Czech Republic, the National Party shocked the country when it offered a "final solution to the gypsy problem", while its larger counterpart, the Workers' Party, has few qualms about sending its "security brigades" into neighbourhoods dominated by gypsies, or Roma – a group which is often a target.
Ondrej Cakl, an expert on the Czech far right, said a few years ago, Workers' Party meetings attracted only a couple of dozen, but now they attract hundreds.
In Romania, one party urges "Christians and patriots to rid the country of thieves". In Austria, the powerful Freedom Party, led by Heinz-Christian Strache, has high expectations from June's vote: last September, it took 17.5 per cent of the vote in national elections, and experts predict it will make significant gains on the 6 per cent it won in the last European elections.
Across the continent, the far right could well win more than the 25 seats it needs to form a bloc in the European Parliament and secure about £1 million in annual funding. >>> By Matthew Day in Warsaw | Monday, May 25, 2009
