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Presidential election in Slovakia: towards the confirmation of the pro-Russian turn?
The first round of the Slovak presidential election will take place on Saturday March 23.
The powers of the head of state remain limited in Slovakia.
But if the current government's candidate is elected, this could leave the field even more open to Robert Fico, the Prime Minister already well known for his positions favorable to the Kremlin.
Pro-Ukrainian demonstration against the foreign policy of the Slovak government, March 12, 2024. REUTERS - Radovan Stoklasa
By: Alexis Rosenzweig
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From our regional correspondent,
Two candidates are currently well ahead in the polls in
Slovakia
: career diplomat Ivan Korcok, supported by the opposition, and Peter Pellegrini, ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who since his return to power is indeed in a favorable position for Moscow .
The head of government repeatedly repeats that supporting the Ukrainian army only serves to prolong a deadly conflict, a conflict for which, according to him,
“
Ukrainian neo-Nazis
” are responsible.
Read alsoSlovakia: Robert Fico, the former Prime Minister in the pro-Russian campaign
This rhetoric is very similar to Vladimir Putin's propaganda.
Peter Pellegrini, former lieutenant of Robert Fico and former Prime Minister himself, is more or less on the same line, while for Ivan Korcok, former ambassador to Berlin and Brussels, “
the Ukrainians are leading a heroic struggle that must be sustain
".
Fico's Slovakia turned towards Russia
Slovakia, a country of nearly five and a half million inhabitants, has a common border with Ukraine.
And war is one of the themes of this election, with clearly two very different attitudes on the subject from the two main candidates, also because this subject puts Slovakia at odds with Czechia, its ally. historic and traditional in the region.
For candidate Ivan Korcok, it is important to reconnect with Prague.
The intergovernmental dialogue has just been largely put on hold by the Czech government, which does not at all appreciate the pro-Russian attitude of Robert Fico, the Slovak Prime Minister.
Read alsoSlovakia: concerns about the government's plans for the media
Attacks on the rule of law
But these are also the subjects of domestic politics which animate the electoral campaign, over which hangs the shadow of Robert Fico and all the recent initiatives of his government which raise fears for the rule of law in Slovakia: the reform of justice notably and more recently the charge led head-on by the Minister of Culture against public broadcasting.
On all these subjects, Robert Fico considers himself a victim - of judges or journalists - and he hopes in particular that his candidate, Peter Pellegrini, will be able to dismiss the president of the Constitutional Court.
The first round of this presidential election in Slovakia will be Saturday March 23.
The second round is scheduled for April 6.
Read alsoSlovakia: the mobilization against the Fico government's reform of the Penal Code does not weaken
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