Polls point to pro-Russian Fico to return as Slovakia's PM

Slovakia's supportive position towards war-affected Ukraine could be about to change soon as polls predict the Kremlin-sympathizer Robert Fico to come out victorious in the September 30 elections.

According to Euractiv, the Smer-SD party which is being led by the former Prime Minister Fico is expected to win 20% of votes despite recent scandals surrounding him in relation to corruption accusations and his involvement in organized crime groups.

Bratislava was the first NATO member to provide Ukraine with fighter jets in their efforts to combat the ongoing Russian military offence, yet runner-up Fico has vowed to “immediately stop all deliveries of military aid to Ukraine” should he return to the prime ministerial post.

He has repeatedly made statements that are in line with the Kremlin's narrative on the situation in Ukraine, like claiming via video that "the war in Ukraine originated in 2014 when Ukrainian fascists were killing civilian victims of Russian nationality".

Fico, who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2018, is also opposing Ukraine's bid to enter the NATO alliance and has been condemning the sanctions campaign against Moscow.

Caliber.Az recalls, that anti-government protests erupted in Slovakia that resulted in Fico's resignation after Ján Kuciak, an investigative journalist who had been looking into the prime minister's dubious ties to various businesses and officials was killed in his home together with his fiancée in 2018. The assassin together with two accomplices has been convicted, while Slovak business tycoon Marian Kocner had been accused of having ordered the killing, yet the charges against him have not held up in court.