Slovakia

Following last year’s September elections in Slovakia, we are witnessing a textbook example of the breakdown of democratic principles. For the fourth time, the position of Prime Minister has been filled by Robert Fico, whose party SMER (Direction) has formed a coalition with Hlas (Voice), a party that broke away from SMER, and the nationalist Slovenská národná strana (Slovak National Party). We cannot base our expectations of the current Government on Fico’s previous terms in office, though. While in the past Fico was leaning toward the EU and wanted to be part of its core, during the COVID-19 pandemic his stance turned quite anti-European and hateful.

For the Hlas party, whose candidates won big in elections to the national legislature and the presidency in Slovakia, harsh anti-EU rhetoric and disinformation was a new tactic in the elections to the EP –  the wrong one, as it turned out.

With a major contribution from foreign sources and partly from the Czech Government, a memorial has been built on the site of a former concentration camp in Lety after the industrial pig farm previously located there was removed. In addition, forcibly sterilized Romani women should finally be receiving compensation. What do these milestones mean for Czech Romani society, and what reflections do they encourage?

Cooperation among the countries of the Visegrád Group is directly dependent on the current political situation in each country. In recent years, the alliance has attracted attention for its criticisms of Southern European countries and its anti-immigration rhetoric. While the more liberal of the Visegrád countries tend to blindly imitate the West, the nationalists dream of a conservative Central Europe.

Slovakia's ruling nationalist-populist coalition plans to introduce controversial Hungarian-style NGO regulations, raising concerns about transparency and fears of increased bureaucracy and repression of civil society.  

Robert Fico is back as Prime Minister of Slovakia. What does his election victory mean for the democratic opposition and civil society? What should the EU be prepared for? And which lessons can be determined for democracy?

With the return of former Prime Minister Fico, old authoritarian patterns could resurface in the upcoming elections. However, progressives also have a chance to win.

In the run up to the September parliamentary elections in Slovakia the editors of the EURACTIV Slovakia portal have prepared a series of analyses on how individual parties imagine their performance in a potential government. The analyses cover eight topics: the future of the EU, regional policy and EU funds, energy, foreign policy, defence and security, agriculture, human rights and industrial transformation. The foreign policy analysis that is the subject of this article was made possible thanks to the support of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague.

The first terrorist attack in modern Slovak history was committed on the evening of 12 October 2022 when a young neo-Nazi shot and killed two people, non-binary Juraj Vankulič and bisexual Matúš Horváth. Rather than serving as a catalyst for eliminating LGBT+ inequality, that attack marked yet another step toward worsening the situation in Slovakia for LGBT+ people.

In Slovakia, the bill on climate protection is currently being discussed in the parliament. The bill is set to include umbrella clauses to help the country stay true to international commitments made, ensure a comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time break down barriers that slow down practical climate protection actions.