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Slovaks on Saturday chose the liberal party Progressive Slovakia to lead the country in an early parliamentary election that would decide their future support for Ukraine, according to exit polls.
The polls showed the party coming out ahead of Robert Fico‘s populist SMER-SSD party.
Fico served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.
Ahead of the vote, both parties were polling at around 20%. With exit polls projecting a slim lead for Progressive Slovakia, the party will likely need the support of smaller parties to form government in the 150-seat parliament.
The center-left Hlas (Voice) party of Peter Pellegrini, who is a former member of Smer-SD and served as prime minister in 2018-2020, is polling in third place and could play a decisive role in coalition negotiations. Before the vote, he did not express a preference for cooperating with either of the larger parties but added that his party was closer to Fico.
While campaigning, Simecka vowed to rid Slovakia of “the past” and urged Slovaks to “elect the future.”
Fico profits by fueling ‘anger’ over pandemic and war
Electoral campaigns have been marked by sharp disagreement on foreign policy.
Fico has said if he returns to power Slovakia will continue supporting Ukraine but would not provide arms or ammunition. He has been called pro-Russian by opponents, a criticism he rejects.
A Progressive Slovakia government would maintain Bratislava’s current support for Kyiv.
“Fico benefitted from all that anxiety brought by the (coronavirus) pandemic and the (Ukraine) war, by the anger spreading in Slovakia in the past three years, and fueling that anger,” sociologist Michal Vasecka was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying.
Slovakia has the eurozone’s highest inflation rate of 10% and a financially depleted health system.
Fico has also gained support over dissatisfaction over a center-right coalition whose government collapsed last year, triggering early elections.
sdi/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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