NATO country Slovakia has been an important supporter and ally of Ukraine ever since the invasion on February 24, 2022. The countries share a common border, and Slovakia has taken in tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
Ukraine also receives both political and military support from Slovakia. The small Central European country with just under 5.5 million inhabitants was the second in the series of NATO countries that promised to give Ukraine fighter jets. Slovakia has also donated air defense systems such as the S-300.
But all this could change if the populist Robert Fico (59) comes to power after the election on Saturday 30 September.
Fico and the Smer party, which has had a clear pro-Russian and anti-American message in the election campaign, are leading the polls.
He has promised that he will stop Slovenian arms and ammunition supplies to Ukraine if he becomes the country’s prime minister.
Fico claims that it is “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” who have provoked President Vladimir Putin to invade the country. This rhetoric is not unlike Putin’s rhetoric.
– Unfortunate, but no disaster
Fico is also an outspoken opponent of Ukraine becoming a NATO member in the long term. Currently, Hungary is the only EU and NATO country that openly supports Russia.
– We already have Hungary which does not support sanctions against Russia and which is difficult in a NATO context. So then, in a way, we get another Hungary in NATO. It gives an unfortunate signal effect if this happens, but it is not a disaster because it is a small country, says senior researcher Karsten Friis at the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Policy to Nettavisen.
– We will see what policy they decide on in that case. Italy got a very right-wing government, but still kept the stronghold, says Friis.
Friis is referring to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is on the far right. When Meloni won the election last year, she was quick to assure both Ukraine and NATO that Italy’s support for Ukraine would continue.
However, the pro-Russian Fico has gone to the polls to fight against the EU’s Russia sanctions. Fico may also have to work with the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) or the neo-fascist Republika party.
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– The war in Ukraine did not start yesterday or last year. It started in 2014, when Ukrainian Nazis and fascists started killing Russian citizens in Donbas and Luhansk, Fico said at an election campaign event in his hometown of Topolcany this summer.
In the latest polls on Thursday afternoon, Smer is at 20 percent support. Smer is thus the country’s largest party, shows Politicos poll of polls. The provost party Progressive Slovakia is in second place with 18 percent.
– We have a huge problem
Slovakia is experiencing deep political division with sharp pro-Western and pro-Russian polar opposites in the population. This is clearly shown in an opinion poll from March.
A majority of the Slovenian population (51 percent) believes that the West or Ukraine is responsible for the war. Half the population believes the US poses a security threat to Slovakia, according to the survey carried out by the think tank Globsec.
– We have a huge problem, said senior researcher Katarina Klingova in the Slovenian think tank Globsec when the opinion poll was published.
The same survey shows that trust in democracy is experiencing a decline.
Only 48 percent of Slovaks consider it a good thing for their country, according to the report Associated Press.
Populist parties, which are skeptical of arms support for Ukraine, are on the rise in several European countries such as Germany, France and Spain.
Several European countries have upcoming elections that could tip opinion support away from Ukraine and over to Russia, writes Associated Press.
Had to resign after contract killing
Fico has served as Prime Minister of Slovakia for two terms: from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.
Fico and the government were forced to resign after the contract killing of journalist Jan Kuciak (27) and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova (27).
Read also: Robert Fico promised a million dollar bounty after the murders that created a government crisis
Kuciak was working on a corruption case that could allegedly reveal links between the Italian mafia and the Slovak government.
The double murder led to a political crisis in Slovakia, and ended with the prime minister and several ministers having to leave.
2023-09-29 19:43:01
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