Compared to Robert Fico’s Protégé, Even Extremist Filip Turek Is “Seven-Times Reboiled Tea” (Commentary by Peter Weiss)

Neo-Nazis and fascists are becoming increasingly brazen because they feel supported by those in power. Even already fragile democracy will continue to deteriorate. Those who help this process themselves become extremists.

The author is a former politician and former ambassador to Hungary and the Czech Republic.

A new peak of the policy of trivializing and excusing manifestations of neo-Nazism, fascism, and extremism in Slovakia is the SNS proposal for significant changes to the Penal Code related to extremism. According to this proposal, criminal penalties should be reduced and entire sections eliminated.

Most importantly, crimes involving the production, distribution, and possession of extremist material would be completely removed. These are precisely the provisions that serve as a tool for law enforcement authorities to act preventively before verbal expressions of hatred turn into physical attacks.

In the context of the heated debate this proposal has sparked, it is certainly interesting to compare how Slovak and Czech state authorities approach the phenomenon of extremism, given our similar historical experiences with Nazism and fascism, and the fact that our legal systems and political culture evolved from the traditions of the former common state.

Pavel Did Not Yield to Pressure

“Constitutional officials bear responsibility for the value framework they broadcast to society.” This is the main message of the open letter from Czech President Petr Pavel to the re-elected Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Andrej Babiš. In it, he explained in detail why he cannot comply with the proposal of the coalition party Motorists for Themselves to appoint the most popular politician of their party, Filip Turek, as a government member.

Andrej Babiš initially tried, in discussions with the president regarding the formation of the new government, to secure Turek as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Petr Pavel rejected this proposal. He certainly did not want someone accompanying him on official foreign trips who would be portrayed in the media of host countries giving Nazi salutes and whose racist remarks would be quoted. Consequently, the coalition began proposing Filip Turek for the position of Minister of the Environment.

Despite the media offensive of the Motorists for Themselves, which accused the president of allegedly disregarding election results and showing disrespect for voters who gave Filip Turek the most preferential votes among their candidates, despite loud accusations of restricting freedom of speech, and despite the argument that Turek had never been legally punished for his statements, the head of state did not give in.

He refused to appoint this proponent of extremist statements as a government member, even though he risked that his decision could become the subject of a constitutional lawsuit. The Czech president pointed out that Filip Turek “repeatedly glorified or at least trivialized one of the worst totalitarian regimes of the 20th century: Nazi Germany…”

Pavel claims that Turek “with his statements seriously questioned the dignity and equality of women and members of various minorities, at minimum downplayed violent acts of hatred, including those committed against small children… The number, intensity, and long-term character of these actions indicate that they are not one-off excesses.”

He reminded readers of principles that should be self-evident in a democracy: “If someone publicly questions fundamental democratic principles through their statements, they cannot be considered a suitable candidate for public office. Silence or relativization of such attitudes amounts to their indirect legitimization. Freedom of expression is not unlimited. It has its boundaries where totalitarian ideologies are normalized or relativized.”

Bombic’s Actions Are Insignificant

“Danny Kollár is a victim of a campaign for freedom of speech.” This was the main message of Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák regarding the statements of Slovakia’s best-known propagator of neo-Nazism, antisemitism, and extremism, who at that time was under prosecution for extremism, dangerous harassment, defamation, and dangerous electronic harassment.

It is notable that this important representative of state authority and the strongest ruling party, Smer, made this statement in October 2024 on the conspiracy website Infovojna. Kaliňák claimed that the acts attributed to Daniel Bombic, using the pseudonym Danny Kollár, “are insignificant.”

However, compared to the degree of hatred, vulgarity, number of statements, and number of targets for which Bombic was then charged, the statements of Filip Turek were “seven-times reboiled tea.”

Source: Aktuality.sk