Contacted by HotNews.ro, Romanian politics expert Vladimir Tismaneanu commented on Radu Mazare's socking display: the social-democratic mayor of Constanta county (South-East Romania) joined a fashion show catwalk on Sunday, dressed in a Nazi suit. Tismaneanu labelled his decision as "a lack of understanding the catastrophic nature of Nazism".

"Mr. Radu Mazare hasn't got a role in Mel Brooks (movie) 'The Producers'. He does not launch ridiculous thoughts like 'Don't be stupid, be a smarty/Come and and join the Nazi party', attracting bursts of laughter from an audience aware of the Hitler’s barbarism. His gesture of dressing up in a Nazi uniform does not stand for aburd humour, but for a lack of understanding of their catastrophic nature of Nazism. Ignorantia non est argumentum," Tismaneanu said.

He went on to say: "It is one thing to blame Nazism by placing in absolute ridiculousness (like some contemporary films do), but it is completely something else to consider it chic or cool by dressing up you, a political persona that aims to be honourable, publicly displaying the uniform of the troops guilty of genocide.

I could not imagine a responsible politician in a EU member country, I could not imagine a French, English, Polish, not to mention German politician committing such an indecent and defying action. In brief, there is a border between mockery and tragedy. Mr. Radu Mazare decided to ignore it."