Slovakia’s Direction-Slovak Social Democracy (Smer-SSD) party, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, won the country’s parliamentary elections on Saturday, September 30. Fico said at a press conference that his political movement viewed the situation in Ukraine as “a huge tragedy for everyone.” The politician said that, “if Smer-SSD is entrusted with forming a government, we will do everything to make sure that peace talks begin as soon as possible,” Vedomosti reports. Fico already has been entrusted with forming a government.
Fico is most likely to form a coalition with the Voice social democratic party, which broke off from Smer-SSD in 2020, and the Slovak National Party, noted Kirill Teremetsky, an expert at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University) in Moscow,.
“If Fico really acts on behalf of the so-called ‘peace party’ on the Ukraine issue, then Hungary and Austria will have an ally within the European Union calling for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks,” the expert pointed out.
At a recent public event, Fico said: “Western media openly say that there are fascists in the ranks of the Ukrainian army. Let’s take the Azov regiment This is a fascist regiment. Do you know what they say in Slovakia? These are the Banderaites and others who are fighting there, these are just street hooligans on the fringes of society. I’ve never seen a street thug with a machine gun or on a tank. They serve in the army and do terrible things. I am shocked that red carpets are rolled out for them abroad. Those who call for similar phenomena in 2023 are trampling on the legacy of the Slovak National Uprising.
“We must oppose fascism and Nazism in all their manifestations. I call on the highest constitutional officials to condemn use of fascist signs and symbols. They are simply silent. They are silent because they are afraid that they will be punished for it.”
