The fate of Prime Minister Ivan Fico: a step toward a resolution of the pro-Russian-anti-American war in Slovakia
The former prime minister won the parliamentary elections in Slovakia with his party due to campaigning on his pro-Russian and anti-American message.
The left-wing Hlas (Voice) party was in third place with 15%. Fico’s chances of forming a government would be boosted by a possible reunion between the two parties.
The support of the small eastern Europe country for its neighbor, Ukraine, was put to the test by the election on Saturday, and the result could have repercussions for the unity of the European Union and NATO.
The country of over five million people was created after the break up of Czechoslovakia in 1993 and has supported Ukraine since Russia invaded last February.
With no party winning a majority of seats, a coalition government will need to be formed. The president traditionally asks an election’s winner to try to form a government, so Fico is likely to become prime minister again. He served as prime minister twice.
He proposes that instead of sending arms to Kyiv, the EU and the U.S. should use their influence to force Russia and Ukraine to strike a compromise peace deal.
Fico and Hungary: The fate of the EU’s rule of law and a problem of war for the country’s east and central bankers
Critics of Fico think that his return to power will lead Slovakia to follow Hungary and Poland in abandoning its course.
Poland has been on a slippery slope away from the EU’s rule of law principles as Hungary has been sanctioned for alleged rule-of-law violations and corruption. Fico has threatened to dismiss investigators from the National Criminal Agency and the special prosecutor who deals with the most serious crimes and corruption.
Hungary also has — uniquely among EU countries — maintained close relations with Moscow and argued against supplying arms to Ukraine or providing it with economic assistance.
The Russian President has made a claim that the Ukrainian government runs a Nazi state for ethnic Russians in the country’s east. Zelenskyy is a lost relative of the Holocaust.
Fico’s slogan “Not a single round” became a popular refrain in his party, when he advocated to cease all military support for Ukraine. He claimed the US played a part in starting the war and urged Ukrainians to begin peace negotiations with Moscow.
Observers say Fico’s promise to stop all military aid to Ukraine may not have much effect since Slovakia has already exhausted its weaponry in helping Ukraine.
A day after his party’s victory, Fico said he would not send any more military aid to Ukraine but he still supports humanitarian and reconstruction aid.
Orban used the social media platform X to congratulate Fico on his party’s win, and he stated “always good to work with a patriot.”
On the threat of a crime against civil society in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, in the aftermath of the Fico election
“And depending on how the elections in Poland work out, we will have possibly three countries in the region where democratic checks and balances would be disturbed and where policies typical for illiberal democracies would be adopted, and that would showcase a democratic decline in the region,” says Katarina Klingova, senior research fellow at the Center for Democracy and Resilience at the GLOBSEC Policy Institute in Bratislava, the Slovak capital.
“For example, in the case of Ukraine possibly joining NATO or into the European Union, they could definitely hinder or slow down the process,” she says.
“A lot of civil society organizations are worried after the elections on Sunday,” Klingova says. These kinds of attacks are very personal and civil society organizations have been at the center of them.
In 2016, when Fico served a previous term as prime minister before being ousted, Klingova’s organization GLOBSEC received a letter at its office with bullets inside of it. The organization had to move its offices to a safer location because of the threat, despite the arrest and jail time of the suspect.
The Hlas, which broke away from Smer three years ago, may be included in a coalition with the Slovak National Party.
The distribution of seats confirms that Hlas is a party without a normally functioning government coalition.