Smer is leading a proxy campaign

But Čaputová is not Kiska.

Maroš ŠefčovičMaroš Šefčovič (Source: SITA)

Congesting every conversation with topics of little substance or even with false facts has been an increasingly popular tactic in Slovakia, and elsewhere, in recent years. Five years ago, when Robert Fico ran for president, and faced Andrej Kiska in the runoff, he largely managed to divert discussion away from policy and towards allegations (largely of Fico’s own creation) that his opponent was connected to loan sharks and even Scientology.

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

This time around, the ruling Smer party has chosen to unveil a kind of proxy campaign of a type we haven’t seen for a while: attacking a candidate by attacking someone else. When support for Zuzana Čaputová hit 50 percent in the last public opinion polls allowed before the first round, Smer representatives rolled out a strategy that they had tested against Kiska five years earlier: fearmongering. Their statements hinted darkly at the imminent dissolution of all traditional families in Slovakia, should Čaputová be elected. What good could come from this “lass” (© Andrej Danko) who does not seem to mind people of the same sex bringing up a child together – even if the alternative is institutional care for that child?

SkryťTurn off ads

Emotions needed

To the surprise of not just Smer, but also the liberal-leaning part of the society, Smer voters did not seem to buy that argument. Of course, there are enough people who find the idea of same-sex couples, let alone an autonomous and independent woman in a leadership position, repulsive. But many of these folks, it turns out, much prefer candidates who accompany the words “traditional family”, syllable by syllable, with a strong and loud bang on the table. Unfortunately for Smer, their candidate (which he is, despite his best efforts in the first stages of his campaign to make people believe otherwise), Maroš Šefčovič, is just not that kind of politician.

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

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


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