BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — They wear black-vested uniforms and rally for the fatherland. Their red and white striped armbands remind many here of the fascist thugs who did the Nazis' dirty work in wartime Hungary.
Formed last year, the Hungarian Guard is the latest specimen of right-wing nationalism to make a comeback in Eastern Europe. Its appearance has alarmed the government, minority advocates and even a California congressman with Hungarian ties.
"People are very curious about us," said Gabor Vona, a former psychology student and rising star in Hungarian far-right politics. He founded the Hungarian Guard to defend what he describes as traditional values and his nation's cultural heritage.
Critics see a more malevolent agenda. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany called the group "Hungary's shame" and asked judicial authorities to keep an eye on it. The chief prosecutor of Budapest, the capital, wants it shut down.
As the European Union expands eastward, hard-line nationalism is reviving old ghosts here in Hungary as well as in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and other countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc and today aspire to be the New Europe.
The freedom that followed the collapse of communism, and then expanded with EU membership, has also unveiled a dark strain of anti-Semitism, prejudice and anti-immigrant sentiment that is being channeled by a new crop of small but noisy extremist groups. They are able to capitalize on disillusion among some segments of the population who feel bypassed by free-market reforms and globalization.
Far-right political parties recently set up paramilitary-style squads in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. In Slovakia, a far-right party is part of the ruling coalition, although a paramilitary group called the Slovak Community was outlawed.
Growing membership
In Hungary, the Hungarian Guard, or Magyar Garda, swore in its first 50-odd members in a ceremony last summer outside the imposing Buda Castle near the Danube, historic seat of Hungarian royalty and home today to the presidential offices. A former defense minister attended the oath-taking and three priests blessed it.
By the end of the year, 600 others had signed up, and several thousand more had applied for membership, founder Vona said. Although members are fond of marching in formation and pledging to provide "physical and spiritual self-defense," Vona insists that they are not armed.
