The parliamentary elections in Slovakia on Saturday resulted in a victory for the left-wing party led by former Prime Minister Roberto Fico. This victory followed a pro-Russian campaign and anti-American messaging.

Fico’s party, Direction Social Democracy (SMER-SSD), secured the top position with 22.9% of the vote, as announced by the Slovak Statistics Office on Sunday morning. This count includes 99.98% of the ballots from 6,000 polling stations.

These elections served as a significant test for Slovakia, a small Eastern European country, concerning its stance towards supporting its neighbor, Ukraine, in its struggle against Russia. Fico’s victory could potentially further strain the fragile unity within the European Union and NATO.

Fico, aged 59, pledged that if he returns to power, he will cease Slovakia’s military support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Slovakia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia initiated its invasion in February 2022. This support has included providing arms and opening its borders to refugees fleeing the conflict.

As no party managed to secure an outright parliamentary majority, the formation of a new government will require a coalition. It is customary for the President to invite the election winner to attempt to form the new government, thus making it highly likely that Fico will become Prime Minister once again.

Fico previously held the position of Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010 and then from 2012 to 2018.

The Progressive Slovakia Party, a liberal pro-Western party, secured second place with 18% of the vote.

Michal Šimečka, the party’s leader who also serves as Vice President of the European Parliament, acknowledged his party’s acceptance of the election results.

However, he expressed concerns about the implications of Fico’s potential return to power, stating, “This is bad news for Slovakia. It will be even worse if Roberto Fico manages to form the government”.

Voice, another left-wing party led by Peter Pellegrini, Fico’s former deputy, came in third with 14.7% of the vote.

Pellegrini extended his congratulations to Fico for his victory but noted that having two former prime ministers within a single government might not be ideal.

He added, “It wouldn’t be ideal, but that doesn’t mean such a coalition couldn’t be formed”.

Another potential coalition partner for Fico is the Slovak National Party, an ultranationalist party openly supportive of Russia, which garnered 5.6% of the vote.

These three parties could establish a parliamentary majority if they choose to collaborate in forming a government coalition.

Fico opposes European Union sanctions against Russia, expresses doubts regarding Ukraine’s ability to defeat the Russian invasion, and aims to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

He advocates for the EU and the United States to employ their influence to facilitate compromise peace agreements between Russia and Ukraine instead of providing military aid to Kyiv.

Fico has echoed unverified claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine’s Government is under the control of a Nazi regime, making it necessary to protect ethnic Russians in the eastern part of the country.

It is worth noting that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is of Jewish heritage and has personal ties to the Holocaust.