Illustrative image. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
There is little that the divided Slovak society agrees upon. However, a new survey conducted by the NMS Market Research agency reveals that security is a key concern for voters across both coalition and opposition parties.
While voters on both sides of the political spectrum rank rising tensions between NATO and Russia, criminality, and intolerance towards differing political views among the top threats to security, stark differences emerge in how these threats are perceived – highlighting a deep societal divide.
Divisions emerge on domestic issues
Overall, 74 percent of Slovaks believe that tensions between NATO and Russia either definitely do, or are likely to, threaten the country’s sense of security. Broken down by political preference, 76 percent of coalition voters and 80 percent of opposition voters share this view.
Criminality is seen as a problem by 72 percent of Slovaks overall – 71 percent among coalition voters and 80 percent among opposition supporters.
Intolerance towards differing political opinions and the condition of critical infrastructure are each perceived as threats by 68 percent of respondents.
It is in these areas that political preferences begin to diverge more significantly. On the issue of intolerance, 69 percent of coalition voters express concern, compared to 83 percent of opposition supporters. As for infrastructure, 59 percent of coalition voters view it as a threat, compared to 81 percent of those backing the opposition.
Coalition fears migration, opposition fears Russia
Interestingly, coalition voters are more likely to see migration from non-Slavic countries (81 percent) and EU policies as greater threats to their sense of security than tensions between NATO and Russia. Only 40 percent identified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a significant concern. In addition, US foreign policy (73 percent) and the actions of the opposition (69 percent) also rank highly among perceived threats.
The European Union has frequently been the target of fiery criticism from the current government – particularly from Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer).
By contrast, 86 percent of opposition voters regard the actions of the current government, led by Robert Fico, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the greatest threats to their sense of safety. Just 58 percent view migration from non-Slavic countries as problematic, and only 34 percent cite EU policies – making it the lowest-ranked factor among opposition voters.
The survey was conducted between 4 and 8 June on a sample of 1,003 respondents.
