Robert Fico, a populist former prime minister, has risen in polls while promising to end military aid to Ukraine and veto “pointless” E.U. sanctions on Russia.
Within the E.U., some officials and diplomats voice concern about a leader who might align with Hungarian President Viktor Orban in obstructing aid for Ukraine and in blocking sanctions on Russia.
Whether Fico can return to power is still far from certain. His lead in the polls comes with 17 percent of the vote, enough to win an election, but he would still be required to form a governing coalition. Second in the polls is the party of Peter Pellegrini, another former prime minister who split with Fico’s Smer party three years ago and would lose his political raison d’être in forming a coalition with him.
If Fico does find his way back into high office, there would be a further question of just how much of his rhetoric against NATO and arming Ukraine would hold firm. After campaigning on a promise to withdraw Slovak troops from Iraq in 2006,Fico and other officials from his Smer party were not available for interviews with The Washington Post, but Juraj Blanar, the vice president of the party, responded to written questions.
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