The fear of Russian influence on the Slovak presidential election is real in Bratislava, where the Slovak opposition is sounding the alarm. Especially since the candidate leading the polls, an ally of the Prime Minister, is suspected of having sought support from Moscow in the past.
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With our correspondent in Bratislava, Alexis Rosenzweig
Peter Pellegrini, then Prime Minister, would have insisted in 2020 to be officially received in Moscow thanks to his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban. The maneuver, revealed by the VSquare investigation siteaimed to collect the votes of pro-Russian voters in Slovakia.
Today leading the polls before the first round of the presidential election on Saturday, Peter Pellegrini, ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico, like him, makes speeches more favorable to the Kremlin than to Ukraine, and criticizes neighboring Czechia for its “ activism » in aiding the Ukrainian army.
Won by Robert Fico last fall, the legislative elections had already been marked by a campaign of disinformation and even a deepfake which harmed the pro-European and Atlanticist opposition, a camp represented by former head of diplomacy Ivan Korcok in this presidential election.
Before that, “ diplomats » Russians had been expelled from Slovakia, including one caught in the act of paying in cash the editor of a notorious misinformation.
For the Slovak opposition, which still regularly organizes demonstrations, this election risks confirming the pro-Russian turn unequivocally initiated by the Fico government.
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