Why Slovakia may hold snap elections and what Fico hopes to gain

There are growing signs in Slovakia that Prime Minister Robert Fico is planning to hold early parliamentary elections in early 2026.

In the coming months, a series of initiatives by the Slovak government can be expected. It is aimed at consolidating its electorate, while simultaneously creating maximum problems for the opposition.

Read more to understand why snap parliamentary elections might be announced in Slovakia and how the government intends to appeal to pro-Russian and EU-sceptical voters in the article by Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda’s editor: A difficult choice for Fico: why the Slovak PM might opt for new elections.

Due to internal disputes, the Slovak parliamentary coalition is barely staying afloat and has even lost several MPs along with its majority.

The Prime Minister was forced to win back rebellious MPs by offering them government posts.

However, this crisis-management strategy created further tensions within the coalition. Additionally, the government faces strong anti-government protests, ongoing since December of last year.

Under these conditions, every parliamentary vote becomes a challenge for the Slovak Prime Minister, persuading coalition MPs to support government initiatives is becoming increasingly difficult.

And this is a powerful argument in favour of holding new elections.

Snap elections could allow Fico to “cleanse” the ranks of the coalition partner party Hlas (Voice), and at the same time, replace Andrej Danko’s Slovak National Party with the far-right radicals from the Republic party.

Previously, Hlas had vowed not to enter a coalition that included far-right forces. But times have changed, and there’s reason to believe the party may no longer be so principled.

The key argument for snap elections, however, lies in Slovakia’s budget.

The current Slovak government is pushing to adopt the 2026 state budget as early as possible, ideally, in September.

This urgency has its reasons. According to Slovak law, if the state budget deficit exceeds monthly limits for two consecutive years, the government is obligated to cut spending.

This two-year period will end in November, and the ability to cover the deficit with loans, without making unpopular cuts, is running out.

Thus, the government could be legally compelled to balance the budget. Such unpopular cuts would be a heavy blow to the ratings of Fico and his party.

This presents a difficult dilemma for Fico: if he doesn’t opt for early elections within the next year, he may have little chance of winning the regularly scheduled elections in 2027.

What could strengthen the ratings of the ruling Smer-SD party right now?

Fico understands that he can rely on a voter base that is less educated, conservative, sceptical of the EU and sympathetic to Russia.

One move in that direction was his recent visit to Moscow for the 9 May Victory Day celebrations.

Another step was submitting a constitutional amendment to parliament defining family as the union of a man and a woman. Fico achieved a notable success here. He gained the support of the opposition Christian Democratic Movement. This simultaneously sowed division within the opposition.

In this context, the proposal to hold a referendum on lifting sanctions against Russia fits perfectly.

Backing such a referendum would give Fico a great opportunity to show his potential electorate his willingness to clash with the EU.

And most likely, more such initiatives will follow soon.