The party of former prime minister Robert Fico won the early parliamentary elections in Slovakia on September 30. The politician is known for his pro-Russian views. Fico, in particular, called for the end of support for Ukraine and the start of peace talks with Russia.
“Fico previously promised to stop military supplies to Ukraine and seeks peace talks. He has also criticized sanctions against Russia, opposed LGBTQ+ rights, and defended the national veto in the EU. This is rhetoric close to the leader of Hungary, Viktor Orbán,” Suspilne writes.
The political force Smer-SD received 23.29% of the votes, according to the results of processing more than 99% of the protocols. The liberal pro-European party “Progressive Slovakia,” close to the current president, Zuzana Čaputová, is in second place.
At the same time, neither Smer-SD nor Progressive Slovakia will be able to count on an absolute majority and will be forced to look for coalition partners, Politico writes. The Voice party, which came in third place, has the best chance of becoming such a partner. The head of the political force, Peter Pellegrini, said that he expects an offer of cooperation from Fico, and that “nothing prevents the creation of such a coalition.”
It is necessary to wait for the formation of a coalition in Slovakia to draw the first conclusions about the influence of the elections on support for Ukraine, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
“We respect the choice of the Slovak people, but it is too early to say how exactly the election result will affect Slovakia’s position. We need to wait for the formation of the coalition, and after that, looking at the composition of this coalition, we will be able to draw the first conclusions,” the minister said.
Cover: Jozef Jakubèo / Credit: SITA
