Ekaterina Girnyk09:28, 01.10.23

The head of the party, Robert Fico, previously announced the cessation of support for Ukraine and called for the start of peace negotiations with the Russian Federation.

In the early  parliamentary elections  in Slovakia, held on Saturday, September 30, the leader is the party of ex-Prime Minister Robert Fico Smer-SD, who is known for his pro-Russian views – he, in particular, announced the cessation of support for Ukraine and called for the start of peace negotiations with the Russian Federation.

Fico’s party was ahead of  its main rivals: the liberal pro-European Progressive Slovakia party and the center-left Holos party. With 99.5% of the votes counted, the Smer-SD party was supported by 22.95% of voters, while Progressive Slovakia, led by Vice-President of the European Parliament Michal Šimečka, received 17.96 percent of the votes, and the Voice of the former Prime Minister Slovakia’s Peter Pellegrini – 14.71 percent.

Four more parties overcame the five percent barrier. Final voting results are due to be announced later on Sunday, October 1st.

At the same time, as Politico writes, neither Smer-SD nor Progressive Slovakia will be able to count on an absolute majority and will be forced to look for coalition partners. The “Voice” party, which is in third place, has the greatest chance of becoming such a partner, and its head Peter Pellegrini has already stated that he expects an offer of cooperation from Fico, and that “nothing prevents the creation of such a coalition.”

Another potential coalition partner for Fico could be the Slovak National Party (SNS), which received 5.7% support. Based on the election results, three parties will control 81 seats in the legislature, enough for a majority.

Fico’s pro-Russian views

Fico’s views reflect the traditionally warm sentiment towards Russia among many Slovaks, which has gained momentum on social media since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. He also promised to stop military supplies to Ukraine and strive for peaceful negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Fico has also repeatedly expressed pro-Russian narratives, writes Politico. In particular, in August he stated that “the war in Ukraine did not start a year ago, it began in 2014, when Ukrainian Nazis and fascists began killing Russian citizens in Donbass and Lugansk.”

Fico also praised the Soviet Union for supposedly liberating the Czech and Slovak lands from Nazi Germany at the end of World War II and stated that “freedom came from the East, war always comes from the West.”

Elections in Europe and support for Ukraine

Future elections in some European countries  could provide an opportunity for Russian President Vladimir Putin to undermine the West’s resolve to support Ukraine and highlight the growing war fatigue cited by populist parties.

At the same time, analysts and diplomats also noted that Slovakia , which has a budget deficit this year in the euro zone of almost 7% of gross domestic product, is in dire need of EU funds for modernization and recovery. Therefore, any government “will think twice before entering into conflict with Brussels.”

(C)UNIAN 2023