Considered pro-Russian – Slovakia: Peter Pellegrini wins the presidential elections

About 4.3 million eligible voters in Slovakia were called on Saturday to elect a new head of state for the next five-year term. The outcome will influence the future course of the country. Pellegrini is considered a pro-Russian camp.

The election drama that was widely expected in Slovakia did not take place. Pellegrini defeated his rival by 6.5 percentage points. He is the sixth president of his country to be elected by direct elections by the citizens. Voter turnout in the elections was more than 61 percent.

The new president is a Fico loyalist
Shortly after midnight, Pellegrini thanked his voters and supporters. “It’s a great obligation for me, a huge honor,” he said. After everything he had to endure during the election campaign, it was also a great satisfaction, he added. The left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was also at his side during the acceptance speech. Commenting on the results, it has become clear that much of the country wants a style of government like that of Fico’s cabinet and a continuation of this policy.

Shortly before, Korčok admitted defeat, but at the same time heavily criticized the tactics of the government camp’s election campaign. It has not only been proven that ‘you can become president by spreading hate’. You can also win if you make the other person a “candidate for war,” he explained, referring to the story spread by government politicians that Korčok, as president, would draw Slovakia into the war in neighboring Ukraine. He respects the fact that the second election was decided by a record high turnout, but he also fears. Korčok was supported by the pro-European, liberal opposition.

Only a minority cares about democracy
The result represents a further boost for left-wing populist Fico, who is seeking greater control over the media, a weakening of anti-corruption laws and less aid for Ukraine. And it also shows that the anti-government protests on the streets and the resistance from part of civil society, the liberal opposition and the media did not reflect the general mood in the deeply polarized EU and NATO country of Slovakia. A larger part of society does not seem to share the Fico critics’ concerns about the rule of law and democracy, as well as their clear support for Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia.

Fico stopped military state aid to neighboring Ukraine to defend against Russia, because this only meant a continuation of the war while he was in favor of peace, he argued. He replaced the leadership of the police and key state authorities and initiated a controversial judicial reform last December, seen by the liberal opposition and the European Commission as a threat to the rule of law in Slovakia. At the request of outgoing President Zuzana Čaputová, the Constitutional Court has now temporarily suspended parts of the reform. Recently, Fico and his government have also been accused of attacks on press freedom. The opposition camp fears that as president, Pellegrini will only be an extension of Fico in the presidential palace.

Record voter turnout
Ivan Korčok received more than 1.2 million votes in the second round, 200,000 fewer than Pellegrini. Observers analyzed that the decisive factor for the result was the record high turnout. It was said that Peter Pellegrini had been given a very strong mandate.

It remains to be determined what the high interest from voters can be attributed to. “I can’t say now whether it was really fear, whether it was the issue of the Ukrainian conflict that mobilized the voters,” said Martin Slosiarik, head of the Markiza TV channel’s polling firm Focus. However, the result largely confirms the deep polarization in Slovakia; both camps will continue to face each other in the coming months and it could become very confrontational. “I can’t imagine the country will calm down,” Slosiarik added.

The current president leaves on June 15
In fact, the president in Slovakia has predominantly representative duties. But just like in Austria, its importance increases in times of crisis. For example, he could appoint a cabinet of experts based on his ideas, as Čaputová did after the fall of Eduard Heger’s right-wing conservative government last year. She no longer wanted to run for a second term, partly because of the frequent verbal attacks from the government camp against her and her family. The current president’s term ends on June 15.