Slovakia elects Robert Fico as new Prime Minister

On March 5th, a general election was held in the Slovak Republic, with the center-left party "Direction - Social Democracy" (SMER), led by Robert Fico, winning 28% of the vote. Deputies from the party of the prime minister will have 49 seats out of 150, and the Slovak Parliament will all together be represented by nine parties. To continue as head of the government, Fico will have to create a new governing coalition.

A firm anti-Brussels campaign

The policy pursued by Fico is different from the current EU trends. Like with Viktor Orban in Hungary, the Slovak Prime Minister's position is to defend national interests, sees a need for friendly relations with Russia, and a more pragmatic position within the EU. SMER has also often used anti-immigration rhetoric which radically opposes the politically correct thesis of multiculturalism. On the eve of the election, he promised not to let into the country "a single Muslim migrant". Liberals are unhappy with Robert Fico's positions and have been trying to discredit him.

The composition of the future Parliament

The Slovak National Party, with their 13 seats, will be the most likely partner for Fico in Parliament. The SNP takes a more pro-Russian position than SMER, and its activities are a source of outrage among liberals. Also, the right-wing party "Our Slovakia" (LS-Nase Slovensko), received 11 seats, having passed census. The liberal "Freedom and solidarity" party (SaS) now has 23 seats, and the conservative OLANO-NOVA will have 12 seats. The party of ethnic Hungarians "Bridge" (Most-Hid) won 11 seats, the liberal "Network" (Siet) - the same number. The Christian Democrats (KDH) took eight seats, while the Conservatives SME Rodina took 10.

Slovak analysts predict that the creation of the ruling coalition may take weeks, if not months.

On the eve of EU presidency

In July, the Slovak Republic will be the rotating chairman of the EU. There is a possibility that Fico's views in relation to the migrant issues will be supported across Eastern Europe, as well as the core members of the EU, considering the worsening situation in Germany, France, Belgium, and Scandinavian countries.

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