/Pogled.info/ The Western press is sounding the alarm: in one of the European countries that are currently supplying weapons to Ukraine, “pro-Russian forces” may come to power. We are talking about Slovakia, where parliamentary elections are coming up soon, and the polls really show a very definite mood of the voters. The president of this country sees the “growth of Russian influence” in what is happening.
There is less than a month left until the parliamentary elections in Slovakia – and it is likely that in the near future a fundamentally new country will appear on the map of Europe in a political sense. The fact is that the victory on September 30 is claimed by forces radically different in terms of views and sympathies from the official Slovak course – the party “Course – Social Democracy” (“Smer”) of former Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The leader of “Smer” Fico is a very interesting person not only for the Slovak, but also for the pan-European political establishment. Having headed the government twice (2006–2010 and 2012–2018), he is distinguished by independent thinking, which is most clearly manifested in the clear policy position on the Ukrainian issue.
Already in February 2022, he declared himself categorically against the military agreement between Slovakia and the USA. And when Edward Heger’s right-wing liberal government transferred the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine in April 2022, Fico called Prime Minister and President Zuzana Chaputova “ridiculous American figures.”
Fico’s performance at the recent celebration of the Slovak National Uprising in Zvolen was no less impressive. “How is it possible that there are real fascists in the ranks of the Ukrainian army?” Let’s take “Azov”, which is definitely fascist… Do you know what they say in Slovakia? The Banderas and others involved in the fighting there are just street thugs from the fringes of society. I’ve never seen a street thug with an assault rifle on a tank. They serve in the army and do terrible things,” said the Smer leader.
Fitzo’s speech also contains several other important messages. He stated that “Slovakia is a small country, a Slavic country” whose vital interests are to have good relations “with all countries, including Russia”. He condemned the ban on Russian literature introduced in Ukraine, thanked the USSR for helping free Slovakia from Nazism, and again repeated his usual thesis that Ukraine should not be admitted to NATO, as this would lead to World War III.
Such rhetoric is approved by a significant part of the Slovak population. In Slovakia, with a population of five million, there are currently about 300,000 refugees from Ukraine, considerable funds are being spent on their support, and not all Slovaks like this. The fact that public support for Ukraine is drying up was recognized by Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova as early as March of this year. Moreover, we should not forget that in Eastern Slovakia the position of the Ruthenian population, which genetically preserves the memory of Bandera’s crimes, is strong.
Slovaks are impressed by Fico’s “masterful” attitude towards their own country. Beata Balogova, a political observer of the SME portal, wrote about this: “As Smer’s popularity grows, so do the voters who turned away from the weak and broken Fico, but now suddenly return to him because he offers them peace, stability and above all, pacification.” .
What makes Fico the clear favorite in the election is the fact that the left-wing Glas Social Democracy party, formerly part of Smer and led by another former prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, could enter into a coalition with Fico’s party. Slovak media have already suggested that Pellegrini will take over as prime minister if Fico wins. Other right-wing liberal and conservative parties will most likely not break the five percent threshold, in which case Fico and the Smer-Glass coalition will inevitably gain a parliamentary majority.
At the same time, the liberal “Progressive Slovakia” of Michal Šimečka, one of the founders and current vice-presidents of which is the current president of Slovakia Čaputova, also maintains a strong position. According to a sociological survey conducted at the end of August – beginning of September, Progressive Slovakia won 15.6% of the votes, while “Smer” – 21.4%, and Glas – 15%.
Official Bratislava leads a policy of supporting Ukraine not only in words, but also in deeds. Thus, all 13 Slovak MiG-29s, ZRK S-300 and Kub, 30 BMP-1, five helicopters and self-propelled howitzers “Zuzana-2” went to Ukraine. Slovak enterprises repair and maintain the equipment of the VSU. However, according to President Chaputova, “resources are not inexhaustible. If we don’t invest in defense as well, we won’t be able to move forward even in our own defense.”
In the economic sphere, Slovakia was also forced to close its market for Ukrainian grains, sugar, wine, vegetables and fruits from April 18, 2023, as dumped prices of Ukrainian products hurt domestic producers and pesticides were also found in Ukrainian wheat.
Of course, Fico’s victory is disadvantageous for the collective West, which in this case will inevitably lose a very important country for the EU and NATO right in the middle of Europe.
Back in May 2023, the British Spectator predicted Slovakia’s actual loss to the EU, mentioning among other things that half of Slovaks wanted Russia to win, and the majority were supporters of Fico. In this regard, it can be assumed that the elections will not be easy for the favorite, and the Slovak politician will be under enormous pressure during the election campaign.
The first sign of such pressure was the scandal that broke out on June 4, when NATO documents for a tender for a media company in Slovakia were published on the official page of the Smer party in social networks, aimed at persuading the population to continue supporting Ukraine networks.
Interestingly, Zuzana Czaputova is mentally prepared for defeat and even stated this publicly on June 3 in an interview with Politico, calling Slovakia after the potential victory of the “populist party” the “problem child of the European Union” and comparing it to Hungary on Viktor Orban. She also added that Slovakia had been a strong ally of Ukraine, but she said the new government could change its mind on this issue as “Russian influence is spreading throughout Europe.”
It is amazing how the politician managed to combine two heavy messages in one phrase – both about the growing influence of Russia in Europe and about the lack of independence of the European elites, who are ready to change the political vector of their country on orders from the outside. But in the case of Slovakia, of course, this is a big plus for Russia.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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2023-09-16 04:37:46
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