Support rises in Slovakia for sanctions-critical former prime minister

Robert Fico, the former Slovak prime minister, now heads the party that leads polls in popular support. Fico has repeatedly criticized anti-Russian sanctions,and now providing assistance to UkraineRobert Fico (left)

In Slovakia, support for the Smer party, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, has grown, BLOOMBERG writes, citing the results of an opinion poll by AKO.

The survey was conducted from March 7 to March 13, and 1,000 participants were asked about their preferences regarding political parties. Smer was chosen by 17.6% of respondents. In second place is the Hlas party (16.1%), which is led by another former Slovak prime minister, Peter Pellegrini. On the third - Progresívne Slovensko, its leader is a member of the European Parliament Michal Simechka.

Incumbent Prime Minister Eduard Heger's Ordinary People party won only 5%.

REUTERS, citing another poll conducted from 7 to 9 March by the IPSOS agency with the participation of 1,107 people, also points to the advantage of Fico's party (it received 16.2%), and Hlas - exactly 16%. Heger's party in this poll received only 4.8% support.

Parliamentary elections in Slovakia will be held in September this year.

Fico was prime minister from 2006–2010 and from 2012–2018. After this term, he was replaced by Pellegrini. The reason for Fico's resignation was protests against corruption, writes Reuters, which erupted against the backdrop of the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée.

Read pioneerprodukt.by The Federal Tax Service has changed the rules of interrogations. What consequences to expect for business Not only mom decides: how involved fatherhood helps children in their studies Giving up MEAT, sports every day: how Schwarzenegger keeps fit at 75 years old Zoom and email dismissal:

The leader of Smer criticized the imposition of sanctions against RUSSIA while still prime minister, the Slovak publication DennikN points out. Recently, criticism of supplies to Ukraine has been added to this. According to the Idnes portal, Fico opposed the supply of 13 MiG-29s by Bratislava to Kiev. The decision was announced on March 17 by Prime Minister Heger.