The marked differences between a staunchly pro-Kyiv government in Prague and Slovakia’s Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico have come to the fore.
Over the past month, the marked differences between a staunchly pro-Kyiv government in Prague and Slovakia’s Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico have come to the fore.to Ukraine’s front lines, sourcing munitions from the arsenals of countries around the world.
Fico has been outspoken in his challenges to Western orthodoxy, offering the perspective of a supposed pragmatist who wants peace and recognizes Ukraine will not be able to recover much of the territory it has lost in the south and southeast of the country. He also casts overt support for Ukraine as a bid to undermine Russia and has mocked theon Facebook this month.
“When Fiala rebuked Fico, he was also rebuking Andrej Babis and the various pro-Kremlin voices at home,” Rohac told me. “The difference between Fiala and Fico is that the former sees the war in Ukraine as existential. The latter, meanwhile, sees it as a purely external event that can be used instrumentally to pursue his political ends at home — just like Babis.
That may have deeper consequences at a time when Fico’s opponents are warning of his efforts to tighten his grip on power andin the furtherance of his interests and those of a set of oligarchic allies. The presidents in the Czech Republic and Slovakia play a largely symbolic role but have the ability to check parliamentary maneuvers and legislation.
A Pellegrini victory “would further weaken checks and balances in Slovakia and deprive the country of an important monitor of democracy, in a region struggling with democratic backsliding,”, a lecturer at King’s College London. She added that, combined with Fico’s return to power and Orban’s imperious reign in Budapest, this would send “a strong signal that the situation in the region is far from stable and democracy remains fragile” and put Slovakia on “a collision course” with the E.U.