This Sunday, October 1, 2023, the SMER party of pro-Russian Robert Fico, 59, received almost 23.37% of the vote in the parliamentary elections in Slovakia. Very bad news because the man who has been the country’s prime minister three times denies supporting Ukraine.
Although former left-wing Prime Minister Robert Fico won Slovakia’s parliamentary elections, he needs to find allies if he wants to form a new government. Because his party didn’t get enough votes to govern alone.
Almost 23.37% of the votes were won
After almost 100% of the ballots were counted, Robert Fico’s party won almost 23.37% of the vote in the parliamentary elections in Slovakia this Sunday, October 1st. The Progress Party (PS) took second place with 16.86% of the vote and the center-left Hlas (Voice) party came third with 15.03% of the vote.
Robert Fico was Prime Minister of Slovakia for more than a decade, first from 2006 to 2010, then from 2012 to 2018. He was forced to resign in March 2018 after protests over the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. The latter had, in a posthumously published article, denounced corruption within the country’s elite, particularly those associated with Robert Fico and his SMER party.
“Bad news for democracy”
During his election campaign, the SMER leader embodied a figure of disinformation and attacked the European Union and NATO. In particular, he promised that Slovakia would no longer send a single ammunition to Ukraine and called for better relations with Russia.
Michal Šimečka, the leader of the PS, said the result was “bad news for the country” and that his party would do “everything it can” to keep Robert Fico out of government: “We believe it is a very “It will be bad news for the country, for our democracy, for our rule of law, for our international status, for our finances and for our economy if Mr Fico forms the government.”
A SMER-led government could have serious consequences for the region. Slovakia is a member of NATO and the European Union and was among the few European countries that had pushed for tough sanctions against Russia. In particular, it had delivered large quantities of military equipment to Ukraine.
Close ally of Viktor Orban
But that’s likely to change under Robert Fico. He accused “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion of Ukraine, repeating the false narrative the Kremlin leader used to justify the war.
Robert Fico has also become a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban. If the Slovak populist runs for a fourth term, it would mean Slovakia would join Hungary in challenging the European Union’s support for Ukraine as the bloc seeks to remain united in its opposition to the Russian invasion.
It would also strengthen the group of former communist states in the east whose governments are hostile to liberalism, while countries like Poland hold elections next month. In addition, he stated that he would review the security arrangements that allow the United States to operate military bases in Slovakia.
This Sunday, Robert Fico announced that Slovakia has “bigger problems” than aid to Kiev. This election represents a major change for this country, which has been one of Ukraine’s most important allies.