PRAGUE (AP) — Voters in Slovakia, Italy and other European Union countries will vote Saturday, on the third day of elections for the European Parliament, with populist movements and far right parties seeking to make gains across the 27-member bloc.
In Slovakia, the elections were overshadowed by an assassination attempt populist prime minister Roberto Fico on May 15, sending shockwaves across the nation of 5.4 million and reverberating across Europe. Analysts say the attack could increase the chances of the prime minister’s left-wing Smer (Direction) party, the main partner in the governing coalition, of winning the vote.
Fico, who took office last fall after campaigning on a pro-Russian, anti-American platform, is recovering from multiple injuries after being shot in the abdomen while greeting supporters in the town of Handlova.
He recovered in time to address the nation in a pre-recorded videohis first public statement since the attack, just hours before the pre-election period of silence began on Wednesday.
Although Fico did not speak directly about the vote, he attacked the European Union, suggesting that it was a victim because of its views that differ markedly from the European mainstream.
Fico strongly opposes supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion. He ended Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine after his coalition government took office on October 25. He also opposes EU sanctions on Russia and wants to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
The mainstream media, non-governmental organizations and the liberal opposition were also to blame for the assassination attempt, according to Fico, an allegation repeated by politicians from his government coalition.
Soňa Szomolányi, a professor of political science at Comenius University in Bratislava, said the timing of Fico’s message was “no coincidence.”
“This only confirms that the ruling coalition has used the assassination (attempt) expeditiously and apparently effectively,” Szomolányi said. As a result, “one can expect a mobilization of Smer’s supporters (in the elections),” she said.
In Italy, citizens aged 18 and over vote for two days to occupy 76 seats in the European Parliament, starting on Saturday.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to be the big winner, reflecting the rise of her far-right Brothers of Italy, mainly at the expense of her coalition partners, the populist, anti-immigration League and Forza Italia, center-right. Although the vote is not expected to affect the balance in the government coalition, the result could expand Meloni’s influence in the European Union, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has not ruled out a coalition with her group.
Taking advantage of her popularity, Meloni is running as a preferred candidate, although she has no intention of occupying a seat in the European Parliament.
Voters in Latvia, Malta and the Czech Republic also voted on Saturday. Final results will not be released until Sunday night, after all countries have voted. The main voting day is Sunday, with citizens from 20 European countries, including Germany, France and Poland, voting for the 720 seats in the European Parliament.
Seats are allocated based on population, ranging from six in Malta or Luxembourg to 96 in Germany.
In Slovakia, Fico’s Smer party is in a tight race against the main opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, a pro-Western liberal party.
The Fico government has made efforts to public broadcasting reform – a measure that, according to critics, would give the government total control of public television and radio.
This, along with your plans to change the penal code eliminating a special anti-corruption prosecutor, led opponents to fear that he would lead Slovakia down a more autocratic path, following the direction of neighboring Hungary under a populist regime Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Thousands of people demonstrated repeatedly in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s policies.
Aneta Világi, an analyst at Comenius University, said that Smer’s possible victory “will be interpreted by the coalition parties as proof that the majority of voters still agree with the direction they are offering the country”.
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Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed reporting.
