Voters in Slovakia on Saturday strengthened the grip of Russia-friendly political forces in Central Europe, handing victory in a presidential election to a candidate who opposes offering navy and monetary help to Ukraine.
With 99 % of the votes counted, the official tally confirmed Peter Pellegrini, an ally of Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, the winner with 53 % of the vote in a presidential runoff. Regardless of the presidency’s restricted powers in Slovakia, the election was broadly watched as a check of energy between political camps with starkly completely different views on Russia.
The defeated candidate, former International Minister Ivan Korcok, is a stalwart supporter of Ukraine and critic of Mr. Fico, a pugnacious veteran politician who has aligned with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary in opposing help to Ukraine and difficult mainstream opinions throughout the European Union.
With Mr. Fico at his aspect, Mr. Pellegrini declared victory early Sunday, quickly after Mr. Korckok conceded defeat.
Mr. Korcok got here first amongst 9 candidates in an preliminary spherical of voting on March 23, however he misplaced in Saturday’s face-off with Mr. Pellegrini, who seems to have picked up votes that within the first spherical went to an anti-NATO nationalist who completed third.
Within the marketing campaign main as much as the vote, Mr. Pellegrini copied techniques utilized by Mr. Orban throughout an election in 2022 in Hungary, during which his governing celebration falsely claimed that the principle opposition chief wished to ship Hungarian troopers to struggle in opposition to Russia in Ukraine. Mr. Pellegrini used the identical smear in opposition to Mr. Korcok, casting him as a warmonger intent on sending Slovak troops into Ukraine.
Mr. Korcok insisted that he had no such plan — which isn’t one thing a Slovak president has the ability to hold out, anyway — however he had hassle breaking by means of a miasma of disinformation pumped out by pro-Russia web sites and social media accounts.
His defeat is a giant increase for Mr. Fico, who can now pursue his agenda with out interference from the presidency. That may be a marked shift from the tenure of the departing president, Zuzana Caputova, an outspoken, pro-Western liberal who used her restricted powers to withstand Mr. Fico’s drift towards Russia and his efforts to restrict the judiciary’s capacity to prosecute corruption. She didn’t run for a brand new time period, saying that she was exhausted “from the skilled and human perspective.”
Restrained by Ms. Caputova, Mr. Fico kept away from confronting fellow leaders over Ukraine throughout European Union summits in Brussels. The election of Mr. Pellegrini, nonetheless, may result in a extra confrontational strategy like that of Hungary, the European bloc’s inveterate dissident.
In public statements, Mr. Fico has joined Mr. Orban in pushing for what he describes as “peace” in Ukraine, arguing that the warfare will drag on indefinitely with out a swift negotiated settlement. Ukraine and its Western backers take into account an finish to the warfare inconceivable except Russia offers up occupied territory.
Mr. Korcok, a profession diplomat who served as Slovakia’s ambassador to Washington from 2018 to 2020, has dismissed requires instant “peace” as a give up to Russia’s purpose of hanging on to Ukrainian land. He helps the stance that offering navy and monetary help to Ukraine is the one strategy to convey an enduring finish to the battle.
Mr. Fico, a veteran politician who ended an earlier stint as prime minister by resigning in 2018 amid a swirl of corruption accusations, has additionally adopted Mr. Orban in making an attempt to neuter the judiciary and in casting supporters of Ukraine as disloyal lackeys of the USA.
Mr. Fico returned to energy after a basic election in September, reviving a political profession that many had thought of over when he give up amid massive avenue protests after the killing of an investigative journalist who had been trying into authorities graft.
Pavol Strba in Bratislava contributed reporting.