Pro-EU liberals triumph over Fico’s Smer in Slovak EU elections

5 months ago 31

Liberal opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS/Renew) emerged victorious in the European elections in Slovakia with 27.8% of the vote and six seats, beating Robert Fico’s Smer-SD (NI), initially seen as the frontrunner, which secured 24.8% of the vote and five seats.

The result was not unexpected, but polls had begun to shift in Smer’s favour following the assassination attempt of Fico.

“Together, we have managed to win the strongest mandate for a pro-European Slovakia. We appreciate your trust, we will use it responsibly,” PS leader Ľudovít Ódor wrote on social media.

Smer published a statement congratulating PS on its victory. The party also recalled that “the majority of seats were won by representatives of national and conservative forces, which sends a clear signal” to Brussels to change EU policy.

“Citizens gave a clear order for a change in EU policy when, in a record turnout, they overwhelmingly rejected the EU’s approach to the war in Ukraine, the sending of arms and progressive ideology in the form of the Green Deal and the denial of traditional values,” the party claimed.

Official results of the EU elections in Slovakia confirmed the predictions published by Slovak media on Sunday morning.

The far-right party Republika (NI) reached third place, earning 12.5 % of the votes and two seats. Governing party Hlas (NI) received 7.2% of the vote, and opposition party KDH (EPP) garnered 7.1%, each securing one seat. Somewhat surprisingly, the parliamentary opposition party SAS (ECR) failed to meet the 5% threshold, leaving it locked out of the next European Parliament.

Importantly, Slovakia had the highest EU election turnout in its history, at a still relatively low 34.38%. Moreover, seven of Slovakia’s 15 seats will be filled by women.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)