Most Slovaks now pro-West as less favour a balanced geopolitical approach – survey

4 months ago 20

More Slovaks now favour a pro-Western geopolitical orientation for the country, according to a recent survey, which compared to the same survey last year, shows this group has now overtaken those who prefer a balanced position between Russia and the West.

The “How are you, Slovakia?” survey was conducted from 19 to 24 June 2024 among a sample of 1,000 respondents.

Compared to the same survey conducted in 2014, Slovakia’s pro-Western geopolitical orientation has almost doubled, from 25.8% in 2014 to 46.4% in 2024.

The number of Slovak respondents who prefer a balanced geopolitical approach decreased from 50.2% in 2014 to 39.5% in 2024.

The trend has also changed significantly compared to last year’s survey, conducted in May 2023, when 37.7% of respondents leaned towards the West. The shift in the 2024 figures is likely to be due to the parliamentary elections in autumn 2023.

Fico’s voters turn west

The study also confirms that this trend applies to voters of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s ruling Smer-SD (NI) party.

Before the parliamentary elections, 22.3% of them wanted to side with Russia, but in June 2024, only 12.5% did. On the other hand, the same voters became more pro-Western, from 7.9% before the elections to 18.8% after.

According to Robert Klobucký, deputy director of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), which worked on the survey, this is a consequence of the softening of some of Smer’s radical rhetoric since it came to power.

Klobucký says this can be explained by the Smer party’s actual policies, as the Smer government does not question Slovakia’s membership of NATO or the EU, and this attitude is probably reflected in the views of its voters.

The survey also shows that Slovaks under 30 are the most pro-Western, with the preference for a balanced position between Russia and the West increasing with age.

Pushing the “peacemaker” narrative

In addition to historically rooted pro-Russian sentiments in Slovakia, disinformation expert Michaela Dubóczi points to pro-Russian actors constantly promoting the image of Russia as a “peacemaker”, for example, with the Red Army’s role in liberating Slovakia in World War II.

The Russian Embassy in Bratislava, in particular, actively spreads this kind of narrative by posting excessively on Facebook, the most used social website in the country, the expert added.

“We have data from the International Republican Institute, which regularly monitors Facebook activities of Russian and Chinese embassies in Europe. (…) This shows that the Russian embassy in Slovakia is the most active embassy operating in any European country,” said Dubóczi.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)