Robert Fico, who opposes military aid to Ukraine, may come to power in Slovakia
However, in the last days before the election, polls show a slight advantage for the pro-European party
On Saturday, Slovakia will hold elections that may result in the government being led by Robert Fico, a man who promises to stop military aid to Ukraine, claims that the European Union has become a puppet in the hands of the United States, and accuses the president of an anti-Slovak conspiracy with George Soros.
Source. This was reported by the BBC.
"Fico and his potential coalition partners, like (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban, are in awe of Putin. Therefore, his coming to power will be a threat to the whole of Europe," the Czech magazine Respekt wrote over the weekend.
Many other European and American publications that have written about the upcoming Slovak elections in recent weeks have also assessed Fico and Slovakia's prospects in the same way.
If Robert Fico's party, the Social Democracy Course (SMER), wins the September 30 snap elections and if he fulfills his promise to end military aid to Ukraine, it will have great political and symbolic significance. In practice, it will not be very big: Slovakia has already provided all the help it can, giving the Ukrainians a lot of armored vehicles and all 13 of its MIG-29s, and the Kurs/SMER is not going to curtail all other non-military assistance.
Opinion polls in Slovakia showed a slight advantage for Fico's party over its main rival, the pro-European and liberal Progressive Slovakia party.
But in the last days before the election, two polls showed a different picture: The SPS has caught up with the ODS.
According to a survey conducted by the reputable international company Ipsos, these two rivals had an equal share of supporters – 20% each.
Another poll showed a 2% advantage for the SPS.
But the most important thing is the huge, almost 1\3 percent of citizens who were undecided until the last moment.
"In Slovakia, it has never been so difficult to predict the outcome of elections and coalition options," Zuzana Homer, head of the Slovak branch of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, told the German Tagesspiegel newspaper, "Many voters will make their decision only before the election. Polls show massive dissatisfaction with politicians."
Slovakia has been in a state of political instability for at least five years, since the government of Robert Fico resigned in March 2018 in the wake of mass protests following the murder of a young investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak. Kuciak was investigating the mafia, which Fico's associates were accused of having ties to.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
