In Slovakia, the Prime Minister, who returned to power at the beginning of October, is already criticized in Brussels for his contested reforms, notably that of the Penal Code. This election will be one of the electoral tests of 2024 for him.
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Robert Fico’s government will first have to face a first vote: the presidential elections. In Slovakia, they will precede the European elections by a few weeks. The date has not yet been set but the presidential vote must be organized in April and will undoubtedly have an influence on the result of the European elections from June 6 to 9, 2024.
And for now, Robert Fico and his party, the Smer-SD, are favored by their victory in the legislative elections on September 30. He has just indicated that he would support the candidacy of his ex-lieutenant Peter Pellegrini for the presidency of the Republic. Peter Pellegrini is currently leading the polls and the result of the vote will be decisive for the next elections.
The main opposition party, the Progressive Slovakia Party, has been organizing demonstrations for several days in Bratislava and other cities in the country against the Fico government and primarily against its potential justice reform. Robert Fico was forced to leave power in 2018 after the double assassination of an investigative journalist and his partner and after revelations about the extent of corruption in the highest levels of the state and the judicial system. .
The influence of the war in Ukraine
This opposition party is led by Michal Simecka, who is not yet 40 years old but who already has some experience in European politics, having been the vice-president of the European Parliament before returning to Bratislava in the national policy. Unlike Robert Fico, he pleads for more support for neighboring Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine could once again be one of the themes of the European election campaign in Slovakia. This war in the border country is an important topic in Bratislava, especially since Robert Fico took up the defense of Russia. The party Smer-SD of Robert Fico was also suspended by the European Socialist Party, because of his positions and because of his alliance with a pro-Russian far-right party. It is difficult to know in which group these MEPs from the Smer-SDwhich presents itself as a social democratic party, if they win some of the 14 seats reserved for Slovakia.
