BRATISLAVA: Slovakia’s Robert Fico, who won an election after pledging to end military aid to Ukraine, was in pole position to start talks on forming a government on Sunday while a liberal rival vowed to seek partners to prevent the former leftist prime minister’s return to power.
With 99.98% of voting districts reporting in the Saturday election, Fico’s SMER-SSD party scored nearly 23% of the vote, followed by almost 18% for the Progresivne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia, PS) party.
The winner is expected to be given a political mandate by President Zuzana Caputova to try to find a majority, and form a government if successful.
A government led by Fico and his SMER-SSD party would see NATO member Slovakia joining Hungary in challenging the European Union’s consensus on support for Ukraine, just as the bloc looks to maintain unity in opposing Russia’s invasion.
The result – with SMER-SSD in need of coalition partners to rule – sets up the third-placed moderate leftist HLAS (Voice) as kingmaker.
HLAS leader Peter Pellegrini, who has previously said his party leans closer to SMER-SSD on policy, said on Sunday that the chance for a stable coalition and agenda priorities would guide negotiations, which could last days or weeks.
Seven factions crossed the threshold to sit in the next parliament. As the party with the most votes, SMER-SSD is expected to be given the first chance to form a government, and it is likely to turn to the nationalist, pro-Russian Slovak National Party and HLAS to gain a majority.
