However, in similarly long-established – so resilient – democracies where far-right parties are in power, or influencing power, such as Italy and Sweden, Liberties said deterioration of the rule of law, while gradual, risked becoming systemic. In more recently re-established EU democracies, such as Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland, it said the rule of law “can swing rapidly - either towards recovery or decline”.Measures such as infringement proceedings or conditional freezing of EU funds could and should be deployed, he said, but Brussels was “like a bystander. They fail to realise some governments are deliberately destroying checks and balances.”