Slovakia’s former Prime Minister and chief of the populist Smer-SSD get together Robert Fico has gained the nation’s elections, outcomes confirmed on Sunday.
The Smer-SSD get together beneath Fico scored 23.3%, beating the centrist Progressive Slovakia on 17%, with nearly all votes counted.
Analysts predict a Fico authorities may transform Slovakia’s overseas coverage to resemble that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
His populist get together is understood for its stance in opposition to sending navy assist to Ukraine in its battle in opposition to Russia and is important of the EU and NATO.
The 59-year-old Fico has vowed that Slovakia is not going to ship “a single round of ammunition” to Ukraine and has known as for higher relations with Russia.
“Slovakia will now be closer to the Hungarian approach than that of the majority of Europe,” Slovakia analyst Tomas Koziak from the University of Political Sciences within the Czech metropolis Kutna Hora informed AFP.
“In Robert Fico, Orban will get a new ally,” Koziak added.
Smer is ready to clinch 42 seats within the 150-member parliament and so will want coalition companions for a majority.
The leftwing Hlas-SD, which emerged in 2020 when a bunch of Smer lawmakers stop Fico’s get together, is one potential accomplice, with an anticipated 27 seats.
Hlas is led by Peter Pellegrini, who grew to become Slovakia’s premier in 2018 after Fico needed to step down amid nationwide protests following the homicide of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee.
Kuciak uncovered hyperlinks between the Italian mafia and Fico’s authorities in his final article, printed posthumously.
Ukraine assist
Pellegrini informed reporters it was not a good suggestion to have two former prime ministers in a single authorities, however “that doesn’t mean such a coalition is impossible.”
Analyst Branislav Kovacik from Matej Bel University informed Agence France-Presse (AFP) he anticipated Pellegrini to hitch a coalition.
“He may not sit in the cabinet. He may become the parliament speaker, he already did that in the past and did a good job,” he mentioned.
The two events may workforce up with the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), which is anticipated to win 10 seats, for a parliamentary majority of 79 seats.
Fico already shaped a authorities with the SNS, which can also be against navy assist for Ukraine, twice prior to now.
Slovakia has been considered one of Europe’s largest donors to Ukraine as a share of its gross home product (GDP).
Slovak Defense Minister Martin Sklenar visited Kyiv simply forward of the vote, and on election day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Slovakia for “standing with Ukraine.”
‘Closer to Hungary’
“We must carefully listen to what Fico is very openly saying,” unbiased analyst Grigorij Meseznikov informed AFP.
“He is spreading pro-Russian narratives and … that’s a serious thing. It won’t be so easy to make good on the threat, but … he will try, and we’ll be closer to Hungary then,” he added.
Hungary is seen as a troublemaker within the EU, incessantly criticized over rule-of-law points and hampering EU and NATO efforts to assist Ukraine.
Slovakia’s subsequent parliament will even embrace the centrist OLaNO get together of maverick former premier Igor Matovic, who acquired concerned in a fistfight with a Smer member in the course of the heated marketing campaign.
OLaNO led a three-party coalition that’s set to win 16 seats.
The centrist Christian Democrats and the right-wing SaS additionally garnered sufficient votes to have seats in parliament.
‘The pure selection’
Voting for Smer in Bratislava, Eliska Spisakova mentioned the get together was “the natural choice for the working poor, people like me.”
“I have a high opinion of (Fico), he focuses mainly on the needs of us Slovaks,” she informed AFP.
The election marketing campaign was marked by significantly excessive charges of on-line disinformation, typically concentrating on Progressive Slovakia chairman Michal Simecka, a European Parliament vice-speaker.
A research by the Globsec assume tank final yr confirmed a majority of Slovaks consider common conspiracy theories.
Slovakia emerged as an unbiased nation in 1993, following a peaceable cut up with the Czech Republic after Czechoslovakia shed 4 a long time of totalitarian communist rule in 1989.
Although many Slovaks have expertise with the Moscow-steered communist regime, many have voted for populists who share Kremlin views.
Asked concerning the election end result, Tomas Hrivnak, pupil from Piestany, mentioned he needed Progressive Slovakia to win.
“You can guess how disappointed I am,” the 23-year-old informed AFP on Sunday.
“It is not the end of the world but I thought Slovakia deserved a better government. I was wrong.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com