Surprisingly, the centrist, liberal, pro-EU and pro-Western party ‘PS’ would have won the early parliamentary elections in Slovakia, beating the Smer-SD formation of Robert Fico, the ex-premier with Putinist sympathies and declaredly opposed to sending weapons to Ukraine. However, this is only the survey of two exit polls and above all it will be necessary to see the outcome of the negotiations for the formation of the government between the seven parties that would enter the single-chamber parliament in Bratislava. In the Eastern European country, there are only 4.3 million voters but their choice is anxiously monitored by various capitals of the world precisely because of the anti-Ukraine tendency of Fico’s ‘Direction-Social Democracy’ (Smer-SD) party , which had consistently led in almost all election polls over the past nine months. The winner instead would be ‘Progressive Slovakia’ (PS) of Michal Simecka, one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament and the first ever expressed by Slovakia. Uniting the moderate right and left, with growing support in recent weeks, the former journalist is a supporter of NATO and Ukraine, as well as climate protection and human rights. Fico, on the other hand, had promised to stop military aid to Kiev and prevent it from joining NATO. A former communist, he has never hidden his sympathies for Vladimir Putin, going so far as to openly support the invasion of “fascist Ukraine”.
An experienced opportunist for two decades (his about-face on Slovakia’s exit from the Euro was famous), the former prime minister knows from a survey that 51% of Slovaks believe that the fault of the war lies with the West or Kiev even if the interim government in Bratislava was the first to send anti-aircraft missiles and fighter jets to neighboring Ukraine. The election campaign was plagued by strong pro-Russian disinformation. Simecka has ruled out post-election cooperation with the Smer-Sd but, driven by the numbers, he may have to collaborate with the ‘Voce-Socialdemocracy’ (Hlas-Sd) of Peter Pellegrini: Fico’s former party mate who became his arch-enemy and successor, moderate, pro-European and advocate of a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine, according to the exit poll of the “Focus” institute for Markiza TV he would have obtained 12.2%.
The system is proportional and therefore the other four parties that have exceeded the 5% threshold will also have to be taken into account. In fact, in fourth place would be the coalition between OLano, (Common People and Independent Personalities), the Christian Union (KU) and the “Common People” all together with 8.0% but openly disliked by Simecka who however may have to change his mind. Then there is “Freedom and Solidarity” (SaS) by the economist Richard Sulik with 6.4%, a potential ally of the PS. Another formation that will have to be taken into account is the right-wing Repubblica (Republika), which promotes the referendum to abandon NATO and the EU and would collect 6.0%, seventh, and last to enter parliament, with 5.3 %, would be the Christian Democratic Movement (Kdh) pro-Europe and in favor of supporting Ukraine
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