Peter Pellegrini
CHARLOTTE, N.C (TNS) — Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico will cement his grip on power in Slovakia after an ally who backs his plans to overhaul the judiciary and wrest control over public media won the presidential election.
Peter Pellegrini, a former premier and member of Fico’s ruling coalition, got 53.2% of the vote, while Ivan Korcok, a diplomat who has criticized the premier’s agenda, secured 46.8%, based on almost all ballots counted shortly after midnight on Sunday. Korcok has conceded the defeat.
The presidential victory would ease Fico’s path to approving legislation and appointments of key public officials. Since returning to power last year, the Slovak premier has triggered public criticism and scrutiny from the European Union for his decisions to curb the fight against corruption, suppress independent media outlets and oppose EU and NATO allies over military support to Ukraine.
Pellegrini, as a parliamentary speaker, played a crucial role in pushing through the judicial overhaul. During the campaign, he accused Korcok, who advocated for supporting Kyiv, of wanting to drag the country into war.
“The government can count on that, as long as it fulfills its program, it doesn’t have to fear that the presidential palace will become an opposition center harming the cabinet, as it was in the past,” Pellegrini told reporters in Bratislava after announcing his victory.
Zuzana Caputova, the current officeholder and standard-bearer of Slovakia’s anti-corruption movement, moved to stop some of Fico’s more controversial proposals. She submitted his contentious criminal-law overhaul in February to the country’s top court, which has yet to issue a ruling.
Pellegrini succeeded Fico as prime minister in 2018, when the Slovak leader was forced to resign amid mass protests following the killing of a journalist investigating corruption in the EU member state.
Amid the public outrage, Pellegrini left Fico’s Smer party and led his own group, known as Voice, in last year’s parliamentary election. He joined Fico’s coalition in October, three months after he told Bloomberg that he couldn’t imagine “sitting together in the same government” with the Smer leader. He campaigned with a more EU-friendly agenda, supporting military aid to Ukraine. But after Fico’s victory, he abandoned those positions.
Pellegrini began his political career in 2002 as an assistant to a Smer’s lawmaker. He was elected a member of parliament in 2006, and since then, his ascent within the political sphere has been notable. He acted as a deputy finance minister, education minister, parliament speaker, deputy prime minister for investment, and prime minister.
His trajectory, marked by nearly two decades of unwavering allegiance to Robert Fico and Smer party, earned him among his critics the moniker of a “yes-man.”
