“Nicely performed!”
Peter Pellegrini (HLAS-SD, catch-all), the favourite of Prime Minister Robert Fico (SMER-SD, left-wing populist), received the second spherical of Slovakia’s presidential election on April 6, 2024. He received 53.12% of the vote towards opposition candidate Ivan Korčok (unbiased). The vote thus confirms the nation’s assist for the authoritarian authorities on the helm since October 2023.
Pellegrini, who served as Prime Minister after Fico’s resignation in 2018, labored with the Slovak chief for a few years earlier than – briefly – positioning himself as his opposition when he created his personal occasion. Taking a pro-Kremlin line like Fico, he introduced himself because the “candidate of peace”, in a rustic the place the battle in Ukraine had a robust affect on the election marketing campaign. For some, Pellegrini’s victory reinforces “pro-Russian forces” in Central Europe – even when the workplace of president in Slovakia is basically symbolic.
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