Peter Pellegrini (source: TASR)
Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. With polls now showing some steady trends, Smer seems on course to win the largest share of the vote in September’s election. President Čaputová was forced to remove one of her interim ministers. It’s bear season in the woods, and in Slovak politics.
If you have a suggestion on how to make this overview better, let me know at michaela.terenzani@spectator.sk.
The trends are clear, Smer has a steady lead
With a little over two months before Slovakia’s citizens take to the polls to decide on their country’s next step, following what feels like a three-year non sequitur, there is very little evidence that what might be called a proper election campaign is actually taking place.
Leaving aside billboards and (for the most part, tasteless) social media activity, politicians seem resigned to the idea that Robert Fico is going to win yet another election. Among the few things that has managed to stir the waters of Slovak politics recently is the seasonal bear scare – a sure sign that the real campaign has yet to get going.
One of the things that the previous election demonstrated is that things can change abruptly in the immediate run-up to election day: no one in January 2020 was predicting Igor Matovič was about to win one in four votes. So the numbers from the latest polls need to be taken with a pinch of salt. But the trends are now pretty clear.
