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Slovakia voted in the presidential run-off and chose an ally of the nationalist and pro-Russian prime minister Robert Fico as president for the next five years: this is the current head of Parliament, Peter Pellegrini, who defeated the opposition candidate, the diplomat Ivan Korcok, accelerating the populist drift of the Eastern European country. When 96% of the seats had been counted, Pellegrini was ahead with 54% of the votes compared to the 46% that went to Korcok, subverting the result of the first round two weeks ago and also of the exit polls released at the close of the polls in remained more uncertain until the end since the direct election of the head of state was introduced in 1999.
An entirely populist institutional constellation has therefore been formed in Bratislava and the barrier against Fico, represented until now by the outgoing president Zuzana Caputovà, his opponent, is collapsing. «The future orientation of the country depends on the elections», said the sixty-year-old Korcok, speaking at the polling station, who – supported by three opposition parties – wanted to keep Bratislava within the European fold and is strongly in favor of Ukraine in its war of defense against Russian attack.
Evidently aware of the international concern for the positions of Fico who calls into question Ukrainian territorial integrity in calling for peace with Moscow, the 48-year-old Pellegrini had argued that the vote “does not concern the future direction of foreign policy” of Slovakia and had assured : «I guarantee that we will continue to be a strong member of the EU» and of NATO.
The presidency in Slovakia is largely ceremonial, but the head of state can always veto laws and appoint key officials, thus proving to be, with Pellegrini, an element of support for Fico’s choices. According to his detractors, the prime minister is “orbanizing” the country with steps on the judiciary, media and Russia that recall those taken by Viktor Orban in Hungary (who immediately congratulated the new Slovakian president).
In office since last October, the government made up of Fico’s Smer party, Pellegrini’s Hlas and the small far-right formation Sns has stopped state military aid to Ukraine. Korciok, Foreign Minister for the two-year period 2020-2022, had surprisingly won the first round two weeks ago with 42.5% of the votes, beating Pellegrini, who placed second with 37.0%. As predicted by some analysts, the decisive results should be supporters of the former Justice Minister Stefan Harabin, a nationalist with pro-Russian and anti-Nato positions, who received 11.7% of the votes and therefore managed to turn the situation around.