2024-04-08 08:44:49
After the parliamentary and presidential elections, Slovakia lies at the feet of Prime Minister Robert Fico. First he formed a majority government, after Saturday’s vote he will also have “his” president Peter Pellegrini. What will the neighboring country be like with a new head of state, according to the analysis of Aktuálně.cz.
The head of the ruling Hlas party won the second round of the presidential election with 53.12 percent of the vote over diplomat and civic candidate Ivan Korčok, who was openly supported by opposition parties. Korčok got 46.88 percent.
Fico lost the presidential election to Andrej Kiska ten years ago, so the victory of his coalition partner is a satisfaction for him. “Pellegrini will only be president in pictures in state offices and schools. Fico will be the real president, because he is the unquestionable head of the coalition group. Pellegrini listens to his word,” Denník N wrote in a comment.
Politically, Slovakia became even more distant from the Czech Republic with the presidential elections, and at the same time it is now more similar to Hungary. The same opinions and the same view of the world prevail there. Refusal to support Ukraine for improving relations with Russia, criticism of the so-called dictates of Brussels, efforts to change the public media and limit the activities of non-governmental organizations. Both countries also unanimously refused to participate in the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine. They don’t contribute anything.
At a press conference before the second round in the presence of Pellegrini, Fico and other politicians of the governing coalition called Korčok an “evil candidate” or “a liberal politician who must be fought against.” This is the vocabulary of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who describes himself as the standard-bearer of the fight against liberal democracy, which, according to him, is destroying Europe. Orbán supported Pellegrini in the campaign.
“Pellegrini and his people built a campaign on lies about dragging Slovakia into war in the event of Ivan Korčok’s success, spreading fear and hatred against the pro-Western, liberal and progressive part of Slovakia,” described Jakub Filo, a commentator for the daily Sme.
In other words, what did not work last year in the Czech Republic worked in Slovakia. The head of the ANO movement, Andrej Babiš, was not helped by slogans about peace and rejection of war in the presidential elections, but the speaker of the Slovak parliament is now. And just like Orbán, Pellegrini and Fico talk about the fact that they will not send a single bullet to Ukraine. There are only three countries in the European Union with such an attitude: in addition to Slovakia and Hungary, there is also Austria due to its military neutrality.
Last April, Czech head of state Petr Pavel and Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová took a train to Kyiv together to support Ukraine, which has been defending itself against Russian aggression for over two years. It is impossible that Pavel could repeat something like that with Pellegrini.
The difference between Hungary and Slovakia is in the official ideological direction of the governing parties. While Orbán’s Fidesz advocates conservatism, Fic’s Direction and Pellegrini’s Hlas support social democracy. In practice, however, this difference is not very apparent, especially the foreign policy views of Bratislava and Budapest are now essentially identical. Although Pellegrini confirmed on Sunday that, according to custom, he will go to Prague on his first foreign visit, Budapest is now politically closer to those in power in Slovakia.
My heartfelt congratulations to @PellegriniP_ on his overwhelming victory at the Slovak presidential elections. A big win for the people of 🇸🇰 and a big win for the advocates of #peace all around Europe! Congratulations, Mr. President!
— Viktor Orbán (@PM_ViktorOrban) April 7, 2024
It is not clear to what extent Slovakia will share Hungary’s rejection of any support for Ukraine in NATO and the European Union. Fico sometimes talks about blocking aid to the attacked country, other times he is not so uncompromising. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár announced that Bratislava will not oppose the creation of a 100 billion euro aid fund for Ukraine at the June NATO summit, but that it will only contribute to it with “non-military aid”.
Russian state media reports that Pellegrini’s victory is good news for Moscow. “Pellegrini is advocating for an end to the fighting in Ukraine. The newly elected president expressed concern about the supply of ammunition to Kiev,” wrote the Russian agency RIA Novosti. The TASS agency described Pellegrini as a “supporter of a quick resolution of the conflict in Ukraine”.
Video: Slovak politics expert Martin Ehl in the program Aktuálně.cz Spotlight News (4/4/2024)
Spotlight News – Martin Ehl. | Video: Oldrich Neumann