The populist, pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico emerged as the clear winner from the presidential elections held in Slovakia on Saturday, April 6. With over 53% of the vote, the victory of the candidate he supported, Peter Pellegrini, shows that a solid majority of the 5.5 million inhabitants of this small Central European country support his government's authoritarian drift and its emulation of Viktor Orban's policies in Hungary.

"Slovaks showed today that they recognize the threats posed to this country by liberal media, activists, NGOs and progressives," said a celebratory Fico on Saturday night, following his ally's victory in a ballot that many considered a test of the ruling majority's power in Bratislava since October. The prime minister invited commentators to "write" that this referendum "had gone well."

The presidential office is largely honorary in Slovakia, but the head of state can still influence many political appointments or propose legislation for parliamentary review. Pellegrini, the 48-year-old winner of the vote and current president of Parliament, ran his entire campaign promising to work with the government, in contrast to his opponent, the pro-Western diplomat Ivan Korcok, 60, who promised to "do his utmost to ensure that the country remains free and democratic."

With a voter turnout not seen since 1999, the presidential election provided the legitimacy Fico lacked, particularly considering the tens of thousands of Slovaks who have been taking to the streets for months to protest against his justice reforms. Having already governed three times between 2006 and 2018, he became prime minister again after winning only 23% of the vote in the September parliamentary elections and having to form a coalition with the far right and Pellegrini's HLAS party.

Celebrating his victory on Saturday evening, Pellegrini once again promised "to support the government in its efforts to improve the lives of the Slovak people." Fico, the target of multiple corruption scandals, has been conducting massive purges of the judiciary and police since October and is now trying to take control of public broadcasting. He has also halted arms donations to Ukraine, a country he has described as "among the most corrupt in the world."

The subject of Slovakia's support for its large eastern neighbor had become the main campaign theme of the presidential election. Pellegrini accused his opponent, who favored support for Kyiv, of wanting to "drag Slovakia into the war." Even if the president does not have the authority to deploy the army to fight abroad, this rhetoric clearly impacted a country where conspiracy theories and pro-Russian sentiment are prevalent.

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