Hungary also a winner of Robert Fico's victory

The Smer-SD party, led by Robert Fico, has won Slovakia's snap elections on Saturday. Fico's victory means that sovereign politics based on national interests has triumphed in yet another European country. We interviewed Zsolt Kolek, editor-in-chief of the Hungarian Ma7 news portal in northern Slovakia.

Pozsony, 2023. szeptember 30. Robert Fico, az Irány - Szociáldemokrácia (Smer-SD) párt vezetõje érkezik a párt pozsonyi székházában rendezett eredményváróra 2023. szeptember 30-án, a szlovák parlamenti választások napján. MTI/EPA/Martin Divisek Fotó: Martin Divisek

An end to ethnicity-based politics?

This time round, the Hungarian parties in northern Slovakia have failed to get into the National Assembly in Bratislava, leaving the community without national representation. The result could mean the end of ethnicity-based politics, Alliance Vice-Chair Szabolcs Mozes told a recent press briefing.

It should be noted that the current result is the best achieved by an ethnic party since 2010.

− analyst Zsolt Kolek has stressed, blaming the failure on the high national turnout. This Saturday saw 68.5 percent of the voters showing up at the polling booths, which is a near historical record. For Hungarians living in northern Slovakia (also referred to as the Uplands - ed.), the ideal scenario would have been fewer people turning up to to vote nationwide. However, the 4.4-percent result should be cause for optimism, he opined. 

Right now, I don't see any alternative to ethnicity-based politics,

− Mr Kolek concluded.

Cover photo: Robert Fico, the head of the Direction - Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party, arrives at the results waiting room at the party's headquarters in Bratislava on September 30, 2023, the day of the Slovak parliamentary electio (Photo: MTI/AP/Darko Bandic)