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bne April 2021 Central Europe I 39
Slovakia continues to have a well-earned reputation for political volatility and fluidity, with new political forces being created for every election, as skill with social media becomes more important than traditional party structures. This leads to inevitable disappointment when the inexperienced parties grapple with the reality of governing, and then the rapid rise of new forces.
This cycle looks set to continue. According to a poll for the state television RTVS at the weekend, 83% of Slovaks are currently dissatisfied with the government and 82% want Matovic’s resignation.
Waiting in the wings is the new centre- left Voice party of former premier
Peter Pellegrini, who split with Fico after the 2020 election and has taken much of his support. According to
the RTVS poll, Voice would win
21.4% in an early election, with OLaNO back on only 11.3%. If Voice were to lead a government, significant reform of the police and judiciary would be unlikely.
Unless the Slovak centre-right can find
a new unity and purpose, another failure in government could therefore
be catastrophic.
“If this government were to collapse and we held early elections, we could say goodbye to a centre-right government for a very long time,” says Kolenikova.
The crisis has wider resonance. In Hungary and Poland, heterogeneous and divided opposition movements face dominant radical rightwing populists. If they finally win power, they must be able to maintain focus whilst in office.
“This is not just about Slovakia,”
says Milan Nic of the German Council of Foreign Relations. “This is what you have to do after a long-term strongman government in CEE: whether you can actually govern. Hungary and Poland are watching.
A similar job will need to be done there. It’s a warning lesson”.
a relief as the party has long been
an embarrassment for the grouping, which had come under fire for failing to discipline the party. EPP President, former Polish PM Donald Tusk, welcomed the news, saying that "Fidesz has left Christian Democracy. In truth, it left many years ago".
Over the years Orban came under pressure for Hungary’s democratic backsliding, its violations of the rule of law, the attacks on the independence of press freedom and the judiciary, but he managed to fend off these criticisms.
Hungary faces proceedings under Article 7 of the EU treaty, and will be subject to a new rule of law mechanism that will increase oversight on the distribution
of EU funds once it is approved by the European Court of Justice.
His hardline position against immigration and his anti-EU rhetoric further tainted his relations with the centre-right alliance.
Even EPP moderates were disgusted by the Fidesz’ anti-EU campaign poster for the 2019 EP elections, which may have been the tipping point.
One billboard showed a picture of Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros and then European Commission President,
Fidesz' EP campaign poster in 2019 may have been the last straw for many moderates within the EPP.
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party finalises divorce from EPP
bne IntelliNews
Just two weeks after quitting the fraction of the European People’s Party (EPP), Hungary's ruling Fidesz party has left Europe's leading conservative alliance altogether, putting an end to years of tense relations.
Fidesz deputy-chairman for international relations Katalin Novak, who serves as minister for family affairs, shared on social
media a letter notifying the EPP’s secretary- general of her group’s resignation. "It is time to say goodbye" she wrote on Twitter.
The EPP has supported migration, abandoned its Christian conservative roots and is no longer a rightwing party, she wrote later on social media.
For the EPP, Fidesz's resignation is
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