Robert Fico, a pro-Russian candidate, won the election in Slovakia after campaigning against aid to Ukraine.
Slovak voters went to the polls on September 30 to elect the country's parliament. With 98% of polling stations reporting results, Fico's Social Democratic Party (SMER) won with 23.37% of the vote. The Progressive Party of Slovakia (PS) came in second with 16.86% of the vote and the Social Democratic Voice (HLAS) came in third with 15.03%.
Mr. Robert Fico at a televised debate. Photo: AFP
However, Fico will have to form a coalition to form a new government, most likely with the HLAS party that came third in the election. Peter Pellegrini, the leader of HLAS, has not yet made a decision on the future coalition.
Fico was born on September 15, 1964, in the town of Topolcany, in the Nitra region of southwestern Slovakia. His father was a forklift driver and his mother worked in a shoe store. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in the capital Bratislava in the 1980s. He then worked at the Ministry of Justice, before being elected Prime Minister of Slovakia from 2006 to 2010.
He was re-elected in 2012, but was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests over the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova. Kuciak was murdered while investigating corruption among Slovakia's elite, including those with direct links to Fico and the SMER party.
During the campaign, Fico openly expressed sympathy for Russia, blaming "Ukrainian fascists" for President Vladimir Putin's war, repeating the message the Kremlin has always used to explain its actions.
Fico has called on the Slovak government to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and said that if he became prime minister, Bratislava would “not send another batch of ammunition” to Kiev. He also opposed efforts to admit Ukraine into NATO.
If Fico forms a ruling coalition and becomes Prime Minister, Slovakia will likely become the second NATO member, after Hungary, to openly oppose military and economic aid to Ukraine. This is considered a big challenge for Kiev, in the context of the prolonged war.
However, analysts also describe Fico as a pragmatist and he is likely to focus more on domestic issues. On the other hand, his future policy decisions will also be heavily influenced by his coalition partners.
Political scientist Juraj Marusiak notes that Fico criticized sanctions against Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, but did nothing to stop them once he took power.
However, Fico has taken a more hardline stance in recent years, making his actions more unpredictable, observers say.
Vu Hoang (According to Reuters, Washington Post )
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