The Guardian View on Slovakia’s Election: An Ominous Signal from Central Europe

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: Victory for a Putin-friendly populist has given Viktor Orbán an ally and the rest of Europe a problem

Mr Fico’s triumph means an enlarged dissident core in central Europe.’ Photograph: Vladimír Šimíček/AFP/Getty Images
Elections in Slovakia, a country of 5.5 million people on the eurozone’s eastern flank, do not normally generate global headlines. But these are not normal times. Amid fears of growing cracks in western unity over Russia’s war in Ukraine, the victory over the weekend of a pro-Putin populist committed to ending military aid to Kyiv sent an ominous signal.

“Slovakia has bigger problems than Ukraine,” said Robert Fico, in the wake of a win that will have been a cause for satisfaction in the Kremlin. His Smer-SD party, which ran a campaign targeting irregular migrants, LGBTQ+ rights and support for Kyiv, will now seek to lead a coalition government. For Mr Fico, who has been the subject of corruption allegations, and was ousted as leader in 2018 in toxic circumstances, this was a remarkable comeback. For most of Europe, it is one with worrying implications on a number of levels. » | Editorial | Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Unease in the West as Slovakia Appears Set to Join the Putin Sympathizers

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The front-runner in the parliamentary vote has pledged “not to send a single cartridge” to neighboring Ukraine, a sign of the flagging European support for a victim of Russian aggression.

Robert Fico, center, in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Sunday, has said he will “not send a single cartridge” of ammunition to Ukraine. | Martin Divisek/EPA, via Shutterstock
The victory of Robert Fico, a former prime minister who took a pro-Russian campaign stance, in Slovakia’s parliamentary elections is a further sign of eroding support for Ukraine in the West as the war drags on and the front line remains largely static.

Slovakia is a small country with historical Russian sympathies, and the nature of the coalition government Mr. Fico will seek to form is unclear. He may lean more toward pragmatism, as Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has done since her election last year. Still, the shift in Slovakia is stark: It was the first country to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine.

The election results come as disquiet over the billions of dollars in military aid that the West has provided to Ukraine over the past 19 months has grown more acute in the United States and the European Union, with demands increasing for the money to go to domestic priorities instead. » | Roger Cohen, Reporting from Paris | Sunday, October 1, 2023

Fico: "EU begeht rituellen Selbstmord"

KRONEN ZEITUNG: Die EU begeht nach Auffassung des slowakischen Regierungschefs Robert Fico mit ihrer aktuellen Flüchtlingspolitik "rituellen Selbstmord". "Und wir alle schauen nur zu", sagte der sozialdemokratische Premier in einem Interview mit der tschechischen Tageszeitung "Pravo" am Dienstag. » | AG/red | Dienstag, 26. Januar 2016

EU in Crisis as Slovakia Threatens to Leave over Controversial Refugee Quota

Mr Fico has blasted the quotas in the past

EXPRESS: SLOVAKIA'S prime minister has threatened to leave the European Union over quotas to accept refugees fleeing war-torn countries.

Robert Fico warned that his country will head for the exit if the EU fails to impose a policy to deal with the influx of refugees entering Europe.

The EU is currently confused on how to deal with the record numbers of refugees, with policy makers left undecided on how to best tackle the situation.

The fed-up prime minister claimed he is ready to propose "a discharge of his country from the European Union" if they are forced to keep taking refugees from the Middle east [sic]. » | Jake Burman | Friday, October 9, 2015