A polling station in Martin on June 8, 2024. (source: TASR)
Despite the May 15 shooting attack of Prime Minister and Smer leader Robert Fico, the key theme of the campaign for the European Parliament (EP) elections in recent weeks, the major ruling party Smer did not win the EP elections.
According to the unofficial results, the winner of the elections is Progressive Slovakia, a leading opposition force, with 27.81 percent of the vote. Smer obtained 24.76 percent of the vote, followed by the non-parliamentary far-right Republika with 12.53 percent, the minor ruling party Hlas with 7.18 percent, and the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) with 7.14 percent.
The other parties did not reach the 5-percent threshold, a failure especially for the two opposition parties Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Slovakia (formerly known as OĽaNO), as well as for the Slovak National Party (SNS), another minor ruling party. The Democrats, a non-parliamentary party led by former defence minister Jaroslav Naď, which received 4.68 percent, may also be disappointed.
In addition to the attack, an evaluation of the government’s policies, especially its foreign policy, was another topic.
