The second round of presidential elections took place in Slovakia on April 6, 2024. According to the results, Peter Pellegrini, the speaker of the country’s parliament, won with 53.12% of the vote.
As news Ukraine told, Petr Pellegrini is an associate of the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico: his party “Golos”(The Voice) is part of Fico’s coalition. Robert Fico himself and his SMER-SD party have pro-Russian views, oppose the supplying of weapons to Ukraine and call for an end to sending weapons to other countries. In this article, The Ukrainian Review discussed more about how they won and what it threatens in this article.
We should also remind you that on May 15, 2024, an attempt to kill was made on Robert Fico. He was wounded, and as a result, the prime minister was initially in critical condition and a few hours later, he was operated on. Further actions are now being taken to improve R. Fico’s health.
During the presidential campaign, Pellegrini repeated some of Fico’s pro-Russian statements and accused his rival, the pro-Western candidate Ivan Korchko, of inciting war.
According to Peter Pellegrini, Korchok was going to send Slovak soldiers to fight in Ukraine (although the country’s president does not have such powers).
At the end of the election campaign, Pellegrini’s team put up billboards that said that if he was elected, he would not allow Slovak boys and men to go to war… This type of accusation by Pellegrini’s opponent played a significant role in mobilising his voters, – explains the effect of this political technology reception, honorary researcher of the German Marshall Fund Pavol Demeš.
At the same time, Ukraine news today said Pellegrini claimed that he would not hurry with fundamental changes in foreign policy: “Like the other candidate, I guarantee that we will remain a strong member of the EU and NATO.”
What can the president of Slovakia do?
In Slovakia, executive power rests with the prime minister. The position of president plays a mainly representative role, but the country’s president can influence the internal and external politics of Bratislava. He ratifies international agreements, appoints high-ranking judges, and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In addition, the president can veto laws passed by the parliament.
For example, according to Ukraine news war, before the victory of Robert Fico, Slovakia was one of the most loyal allies of Ukraine. In particular, it transferred its entire fleet of MiG-29 fighters to Kyiv.
However, after that, Fico’s coalition, which includes the “Golos”(The Voice) party led by Pellegrini, stopped supplying Slovak weapons to Ukraine.
Consequences of Peter Pellegrini’s victory
The opposition in Slovakia fears that Robert Fico is attempting to move towards soft authoritarianism, and having “his own” president would make this process easier for him. However, as reported by the journalists from “Dzerkalo Tyzhnia,” Slovakia is unlikely to become “another Hungary” because it has a very strong civil society with influential non-governmental organisations and independent media that are critical of the government.
I don’t see Slovakia becoming another Hungary. There are very complex trends there… They are somewhat authoritarian. But I don’t see Slovakia drifting, mimicking the Hungarian model – it’s much more diverse internally for that… I don’t consider Pellegrini a pro-Russian candidate. While I don’t see him as unequivocally, firmly, and consistently emotionally pro-Ukrainian either. He is rather somewhere in the middle. His party and he himself will ensure a certain internal balance of power in Slovakia, – believes Pavlo Klimkin, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Dmytro Tuzhanskyi, Director of the ICES – The Institute for Central European Strategy believes that despite the widespread media rhetoric regarding the sceptical attitude towards Ukraine and the pro-Russian stance of the newly elected President of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, he has been and remains the most pro-Western politician in Prime Minister Robert Fico’s circle. He will likely follow a pragmatic political line, which Fico essentially adheres to.
At the same time, according to Western media assessments, by voting for Pellegrini in the April 6 elections, Slovak voters have given pro-Russian political forces the opportunity to strengthen their positions in Central Europe.
Pellegrini’s party essentially joined a coalition with Fico in exchange for the opportunity to become President; this was his primary goal. However, the fact that his party is part of the coalition will shape his behavior. The coalition now holds a majority in Parliament, with Fico as Prime Minister and Pellegrini as President. The likelihood of the President vetoing Parliament’s decisions is now minimal.
We need to look into his previous political career to understand what to expect from Peter Pellegrini regarding Ukraine. He was effectively a member of Fico’s party. When protests erupted across Slovakia after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, leading to Fico’s resignation, Pellegrini left the party and created his own. Therefore, as long as Fico remains strong electorally, Pellegrini will adhere to Fico’s rhetoric, including on Ukraine. However, if Fico encounters problems, Pellegrini might start playing his own game, – commented Olesya Tsybulko, an expert at the Association of Reintegration of Crimea expert.
In addition, The Ukrainian Review sent a request to the Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding Ukrainian-Slovak relations. We asked about the assessment of the current attitude towards Ukraine and what should be expected after the election of Peter Pellegrini as president. As soon as we receive an answer, we will publish it.
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Overall, according to Ukraine information, Peter Pellegrini’s future steps regarding Ukraine will largely depend on Robert Fico’s political stability. If Fico’s position weakens, Pellegrini may start implementing his own political strategy, which could bring certain changes to the current political situation.
Anya Ostymchuk
