Orban wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: “Guess who’s back! Congratulations to Robert Fico on his undisputable victory at the Slovak parliamentary elections. Always good to work together with a patriot.”
Fico’s party is likely to begin talks on forming the next government within days. The pro-European Hlas party, led by Fico’s former colleague Peter Pellegrini, could decide who forms the next government after finishing third with 15 per cent.
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The threat of withdrawing support has led to concerns among European Union and NATO members, while gaining support on social media among Slovaks who traditionally have warm sentiments towards Moscow.
Since May, the country has had a technocratic government, appointed by President Zuzana Caputova after the previous coalition imploded.
Caputova did not congratulate him or appear on camera and instead she released a statement via her spokesman. She has previously announced she was taking legal action against Fico after receiving death threats from his supporters.
“The winner of the election bears the greatest responsibility for future developments because he or she has raised the greatest public expectations. It is now important that he fulfils them for the benefit of all of us, for the benefit of Slovakia,” the statement read.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova has received death threats from followers of Robert Fico.Credit: Getty
Slovakia’s first female president, Caputova will not seek re-election when her term expires next year, and blames Fico and SMER for inciting hatred towards her by making unfounded claims she is an agent of Washington or US financier and philanthropist George Soros, a familiar trope of the far-right.
Four of the 11 main parties in the election failed to clear the 5 per cent threshold to enter parliament, including the far-right Republika party, which scored 4.75 per cent and had been expected to help Fico after the vote. But the Slovak National party, which shares Fico’s anti-migration message, secured 5.6 per cent.
The election comes as Washington has wobbled on Ukraine support with a stop-gap budget measure in Congress passing without funds for Kyiv’s war effort.
Biden said Ukrainians would “die needlessly” if funding was allowed to run dry from mid-November when the measure ends.
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