Bratislava saw a campaign of unprecedented dimensions

Municipal elections in the capital and elsewhere were also marked by a smear campaign. It does not seem to have worked.

The candidates for Bratislava mayor, l-r: Václav Mika, Ján Mrva, Ivo Nesrovnal and Matúš ValloThe candidates for Bratislava mayor, l-r: Václav Mika, Ján Mrva, Ivo Nesrovnal and Matúš Vallo (Source: SITA)

One does not need to run for the president of a big European country to face a massive fake news campaign targeted against them. Even mayors of small towns had to cope with fake news during the recent municipal election campaign in Slovakia.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

While some observers say it is hardly a new thing in Slovak politics, there are some who worry what this means for the next two years, when presidential and parliamentary elections are to be held in the country.

Bratislava inhabitants have noticed that the campaign was massive compared to past elections.

SkryťTurn off ads

“In the last two weeks of the campaign I had people ringing the doorbell almost every day,” Nina Nováková, an inhabitant of Bratislava Nové Mesto borough told The Slovak Spectator.

Read also: 5 most significant results of the municipal elections Read more 

Political analyst Grigorij Mesežnikov, who lives in Bratislava, said that his mailbox was overfilled with leaflets every day.

“Not just candidates for mayors, but also many personal campaign materials from candidates for local councilors,” Mesežnikov told The Slovak Spectator. “This was not the case in previous elections to such an extent.”

Smear campaign in Bratislava

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

The New Stations of the Cross combine old and new.

New Stations of the Cross to combine surviving remains and contemporary architecture.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad