In Slovakia’s parliamentary elections last weekend, the pro-Russia party SMER - sociálna demokracia (Direction - Social Democracy), led by Robert Fico, won 23 percent of the vote, five points ahead of the liberal, pro-Western Progressive Slovakia (PS). Slovakia's new government could be led by Robert Fico and include SNS, a ring-wing populist party known for its positions against minority groups. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was among the first to congratulate Robert Fico.
European Green Party co-chairs Mélanie Vogel and Thomas Waitz comment: "SMER’s election campaigns have been marred by verbal attacks on minorities and on the press. Fico and his party remains associated with a large number of corruption cases. It is clear that Robert Fico and his party do not stand for basic European values. It is also clear that if he comes to power in Slovakia, it will undermine European solidarity with Ukraine. Against this background, SMER’s continued membership of the European socialist family is not understandable. If the PES also condemns the positions taken by SMER, they should take concrete actions and cease its membership of their political family".
Terry Reintke and Philippe Lamberts, co-presidents of The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, comment: “Robert Fico has rejected sanctions against Moscow over Russian President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Fico opposed the supply of arms and ammunition through Slovak territory. He proposes to end military support for Kyiv. It is the moment of truth for the Socialists and Democrats group (S&D) in the European Parliament. They have to decide if they really want to continue sitting in a group with MEPs from a party that is openly spreading Kremlin disinformation, attacking minorities and the freedom of press”.
