Chris, I agree with you to certain extant, and I think the author has an unfortunately legalistic view of things, and it may well be that Le Pen is every bit as bad as Siderov. One thrust of his argument is that Volen Siderov does not face the same legalistic restraints that Le Pen does. However, I think there are some important differences which make the Ataka phenomenon more worrying. Le Pen, Haider, and other far right western parties base there electoral support to a large degree on strict anti-immigration policies. This is not an issue in Bulgaria at all. Instead, Ataka's policy is 'de-Turkification' and 'de-gypsification' i.e. euphemisms for expulsion. During last year's election campaign Ataka's main slogan (not exactly official, of course) was 'The Turks for Turkey and the Gypsies for soap'. The level of hatred and propaganda directed at the Roma is quite remarkable, given that these people are utterly destitute and have no power or influence. Siderov has a notorious television show where he devoted at least 6 shows to the Roma question where he portrayed the Roma as a vast terrorist gang murdering and raping ordinary Bulgarians with the cooperation of the police and the state. This really is something that would make Goebbels proud, and certainly not something that Le Pen could legally get away with. The reality is that Roma suffer disproportionately from excessive police violence, and the police involved are rarely punished adequately or at all. Now various Ataka members are advocating vigilante groups to attack the Roma, and certainly over the last year or two there have been a number of serious clashes (or 'riots' as the media describe them). Siderov's support is active and increasing. On March 3rd Ataka organised a public march in Sofia, calling for the government's resignation and the nationalisation of privatised and foreign owned corporations. There were at least 10,000 people attending. This is enormous for Bulgaria, and certainly no other political party or coalition could muster such support on the streets. It's not bad achievement for a political party less than a year old. However, I think the response from the political establishment is even more worrying. None of them want to tackle the issue of racism or Roma inclusion in any meaningful way, undoubtedly worried about eroding their own base of support. Last year Bulgarian politicians created of lot of publicity about a government plan called 'the decade of Roma inclusion', but unfortunately it is just a piece of paper because hardly any resources are going to be devoted to it. Undoubtedly it was for external consumption, helping to prove that 'Bulgaria's ethnic model' is far removed from the horrors of Yugoslavia's ethnic wars, thus easing Bulgaria's accession to the EU. Bulgaria's famed ethnic tolerance is a myth. Roma homes are being demolished with increasing frequency, without any alternative provision, and in direct contravention of agreements signed between Bulgaria and the EU. The rise of Ataka can only mean one thing - increasing, and large scale violence directed at Bulgaria's ethnic minorities.