MOSCOW, September 25, Mikhail Katkov. Pro-American forces in Slovakia — one step away from a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections. Moreover, their admirers of Russia, who openly oppose ultra-liberal values and NATO expansion, are winning. The country's president is demoralized and ends her political career. What is happening in Bratislava — in the material .
For Russia Parliamentary elections will be held in Slovakia on September 30. According to the sociological service AKO, the favorite is the Social Democratic Party Smer («Course») with a rating of 19.4 percent. Its leader and former Prime Minister Robert Fico is against military supplies to Ukraine and its accession to NATO. He also criticizes anti-Russian sanctions.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Roberta Fico
In an interview with the Associated Press, Fico said that no Western weapons will change the course of hostilities, so Kyiv must abandon territorial claims. And he reminded: the war began not in 2022, but in 2014, when “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists came to Donbass to kill Russians.” Deputy head of Smer-SD Lubos Blaha believes that the United States is waging a proxy war against Russia on Ukrainian soil, while Moscow is protecting its cultural and national identity.
Current President Zuzana Caputova's «Progressive Slovakia» loyal to Kyiv is supported by 18.2 percent of voters, and the even more EU-oriented «Voice» is supported by 15.1 percent. This socialist party is headed by ex-Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, who was once considered an ally of Fico. In addition, apparently, the conditionally pro-Russian nationalist Slovak National Party and Respublika (they have a rating of five to six percent) will enter parliament.
President of Slovakia Zuzana Caputova
According to think tank Globsec, 50 percent of Slovaks consider the United States a threat to their security. And only 40 percent hold Russia responsible for the Ukrainian conflict — the lowest figure in Central and Eastern Europe, The Guardian notes. Fico led Slovakia for a total of ten years. He resigned in 2018 due to mass protests caused by the murder of a journalist and his fiancee. The opposition claimed that the authorities did this because of anti-corruption investigations.
Deep crisisAfter the overthrow of Fico, Slovak liberals promised to quickly lead the country to prosperity. However, in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and in 2022, anti-Russian sanctions completely undermined economic stability. As a result, the parliamentary republic has seen four prime ministers in four years. Against this background, Fico's times already seem like a golden age.
Robert Fico
Caputova, who won the presidential elections in 2019, refused to stand for re-election in 2024. She explained: there is no more strength. And in December 2022, she said that her family was receiving physical threats. The president is also trying to sue Fico for libel. He calls her an “American agent” for supporting Ukraine and promoting LGBT people.
In Kyiv they are concerned: as sociologists report, the attitude of Slovaks towards Ukrainians has sharply worsened. They are blamed for Bratislava's economic problems. And 20 percent of the country's population wants the new government to launch the procedure for leaving NATO. These are mainly supporters of Fico and political forces close to him.
Caputova blames everything on “Russian propaganda.” According to her, the success of the Kremlin narrative is contributed by Slavic kinship, positive memories of the USSR, difficulties caused by the pandemic, and the economic crisis.
Zuzana Caputova
As it was, it won’t be. Experts urge not to rush to conclusions. Fico’s party will take first place, but will not receive a majority, notes Vadim Trukhachev, associate professor of the Russian State University for the Humanities, specialist on Slovakia. Accordingly, we will have to look for partners for the coalition, but the only allies are the far right. The rest will be curbed by the leadership of the European Union.
«A similar story happened 25 years ago, when the party of the current Prime Minister Vladimir Mečiar, the founder of the modern Slovak state, won. On the one hand, he submitted an application to the EU and NATO, but did not force integration, as in the Czech Republic. And he was not allowed to lead the government again. The US and German embassies persuaded opposition leaders to form a coalition without Meciar,» says the political scientist.
Parliamentary elections in Slovakia
Smer can gather 35 percent of the parliament into a coalition, but this is not enough. «Voice» will not cooperate, even if Fico refuses the post of head of the Cabinet. “The European Union does not need a government consisting of two-thirds supporters of Russia. Golos will come to an agreement with liberals and conservatives,” Trukhachev believes. Perhaps Fico will try to become president in 2024, but even here all pro-American forces will unite against him.
Annalyst at the Financial University under the Russian government, Denis Denisov, considers Fico’s likely victory a serious blow to Euro-Atlantic unity. “Therefore, Washington and Brussels will make every effort to prevent the former prime minister from returning to power,” he is sure.
At the same time, it is quite obvious that the Slovaks do not like excessive rapprochement with Kiev. No sooner had the country recovered from the coronavirus pandemic than 300 thousand Ukrainian refugees fell upon it, further aggravating the economic crisis.