Slovakia's Fico to get mandate for government talks after election win

Fico's pledge, however, may have limited practical impact as analysts say Slovakia has already provided much of what it could spare. On Sunday, he reiterated that he supported humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Ukraine but not military, and called for peace talks - a line similar to that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban but rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies, who say this would only encourage Russia.

Slovakia's leftist election winner Robert Fico will get a mandate on Monday to begin talks on a governing coalition after steering his party to an election victory over the weekend with promises to stop military aid to Ukraine. President Zuzana Caputova will meet Fico at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT), her office said. Caputova, a liberal who has a tense relationship with Fico, a three-time former prime minister, will first make a 2 p.m. statement on the election outcome.

Fico and his SMER-SSD party won nearly 23% of the vote on Saturday, ahead of liberal challenger Progresivne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia, PS) with 18%. Fico is expected to turn to HLAS (Voice), a more pro-European party which split off from SMER in 2020, and most likely the pro-Russian Slovak National Party (SNS), which won 5.6% of the vote, to form a majority coalition.

HLAS, led by Fico's former colleague and prime minister Peter Pellegrini, could also support a potential PS-led coalition if negotiations with SMER fail. Fico campaigned on rhetoric that would shift Slovakia close to Hungary as European Union countries challenging the EU consensus on Ukraine, although the presence of HLAS in the next government would exert a moderating factor avoiding any sharp policy turn.

Though he turned increasingly anti-Western in opposition, analysts say Fico can be pragmatic, as shown when as premier he led Slovakia into the euro zone and avoided major clashes with allies. Fico has said he would end military supplies from army storage to Ukraine, and that sending more weapons prolonged the war touched off by Russia's February 2022 invasion. Fico's pledge, however, may have limited practical impact as analysts say Slovakia has already provided much of what it could spare.

On Sunday, he reiterated that he supported humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Ukraine but not military, and called for peace talks - a line similar to that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban but rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies, who say this would only encourage Russia. In his campaign, Fico also called for tougher action against rising illegal migration and reining in a surge in living costs. On Sunday, he said Slovaks had bigger problems than Ukraine.

A Fico-led government would signal a further shift in central Europe away from political liberalism, which would be reinforced if Poland's ruling conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party wins re-election later this month. The next Slovak government must also tackle a soaring budget deficit, making continued EU funding critical, which analysts say could motivate Fico to limit any disputes with Brussels.

Pellegrini told reporters on Sunday that with HLAS in a ruling coalition, voters did not need to worry about a significant change in Slovakia's foreign policy as an EU and NATO member state. "We will do everything to make sure nothing dramatic happens," he said.

 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)