Smer leader Robert Fico and Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Šimečka (source: SME/Marko Erd)
The ruling parties, Smer and Hlas, have managed to halt the decline in their voter base, a trend that had persisted at least since autumn, according to an average of party popularity measured by pollsters AKO, Focus, and NMS Market Research.
However, Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer has seen a significant drop in its most loyal supporters, to the extent that Progressive Slovakia—led by Michal Šimečka and the strongest opposition party—now leads in this metric.
Party popularity trends
The growing efforts of various political parties to mobilise voters since the start of the year are also reflected in opinion polls and electoral models.
Notably, a January survey by AKO highlighted a sharp decrease in the number of voters who had previously been undecided about which party they would support in an election.
"The share of respondents who do not know or do not wish to disclose their voting preference fell by five percentage points in January compared to December," said AKO director Václav Hřích.
