Liberal democracy at stake as Slovaks face critical presidential election, expert warns

Slovaks will choose between pro-EU diplomat Ivan Korčok and Robert Fico’s coalition partner Peter Pellegrini in Saturday’s presidential election, with one analyst and the opposition warning that while the fate of liberal democracy in Slovakia is at stake, it may also strengthen extremist forces within the EU.

The candidates’ current preferences are unusually even, with most polls showing that both have a fifty per cent chance of winning.

Analysts say that, as a potential president, Pellegrini would be loyal to Robert Fico’s coalition, while Korčok would follow the legacy of the current pro-Western president Zuzana Čaputová, who has opposed the government’s controversial steps, such as the reform of the Criminal Code.

Grigorij Mesežnikov, a political scientist and president of the Institute for Public Affairs, said Pellegrini’s victory could threaten a liberal democracy in Slovakia:

“In these elections, the preservation of liberal democracy is at stake. I am not saying it is already being eliminated or that a liberal-democratic president like Korčok could save everything – he could not, as he does not wield as much power as the government,” the expert told Euractiv Slovakia.

“However, if Pellegrini is elected, the process (of a liberal democracy disintegration) would run without major obstacles and quickly,” Mesežnikov added.

An opposition Slovak MEP, Vladimir Bilčík (EPP), agrees with the experts’ words, saying that Slovaks have two options:

They can choose Korčok, who would represent “a yellow card for Robert Fico’s government and its practices against liberal democracy”, or Pellegrini.

In that case, “nobody would any longer stand in the way of the Slovak prime minister, whose great role model is Viktor Orbán”, Bilčík told Euractiv Slovakia. The Slovak opposition MEP also claims that if Pellegrini wins, it will be a step in the wrong direction for the EU:

“Pellegrini’s victory would strengthen extremist forces in Europe. With the pro-Russian rhetoric he escalated in the presidential campaign, he has endeared himself to them. If he wins, it will also be thanks to their votes,” Bilčík added.

‘President of war or peace’

On the other hand, Pellegrini says that Korčok’s aim to create a counterweight to Robert Fico’s government is “absolutely mistaken”. He presents his own candidacy as a promise of cooperation with the government and “peace”.

Because of their different views on the war in Ukraine, he also describes Korčok as “a president of war”.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, Korčok has been a keen supporter of Ukraine, while Pellegrini shares Fico’s stance of not sending weapons to Kyiv, claiming that “the war has no military solution”.

In a joint statement published on Wednesday, the coalition parties in Fico’s government expressed their support for Pellegrini, claiming that Korčok would be “a president serving foreign interests” who “would threaten the stability of the state and peace in society”.

“If elected, Ivan Korčok will amateurishly interfere in the results of the democratic parliamentary elections 2023 by attempting to create a second centre of power with the full and uncritical support of foreign-funded NGOs, the progressive-liberal media and the current political opposition,” the official Slovak government statement writes.

According to Smer, SNS and Hlas, Korčok would also “undermine the concept of a sovereign Slovak foreign policy and will continue in the line of the previous and current head of state”, referring to pro-Western presidents Andrej Kiska (2014-2019) and Zuzana Čaputová (2019-present).

The ruling parties provided no evidence to support their accusations against Korčok.

According to Europe Elects projections, the race will be tight.

Slovakia facing troubles

Since Fico came to power in October 2023, Slovakia has faced increasing isolation.

Last month, it was not invited to a conference call on Ukraine. The decision came just a day after the Czech government suspended intergovernmental cooperation with Slovakia, citing significant differences in views on Russia and the war in Ukraine.

According to former Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď, Slovakia is no longer invited to other closed forums within the EU and NATO because of its pro-Russian stance.

Domestically, the Slovak government has pushed through several controversial laws.

These include the reform of the Criminal Code, which abolished the Special Prosecutor’s Office, a draft law to tighten state control over the public broadcaster and, most recently, a draft law that would introduce the labelling of some NGOs as “organisations with foreign support”.

These moves have provoked strong criticism from the EU and mass opposition-led protests nationwide.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)

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