It is said that Slovakia could follow Hungary and become a problem child of the European Union. Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová drew attention to this in an interview with the Politico portal, published on Saturday.
President Z. Čaputová began systematically releasing test balloons and hinting at the variability of her decision options after the result of the “early” elections.
It subtly prepares Slovaks to bypass constitutional customs and political culture by not having to entrust the winner of the election to form a government.
Let’s remind you of an important fact: Zuzana Čaputová is the former vice-president of Progressive Slovakia and she placed several progressives in positions in the presidential palace or continues to work closely with them on an “advisory” basis.
Therefore, it is still party-wise, and especially progressivist-wise, untethered and ideologically tied to its parent entity, and ideologically sharp against both the ideological and current opposition, especially the Smer-SSD party and the Republika movement.
Well, they could form the core of the future government coalition. Of course, they will need a third and maybe even a fourth to form a coalition. The rule says that if you have a foundation, you can also build coalition walls more easily.
And it is precisely in this logical, ethical and politically customary and also decent responsible process towards the voters – who, by determining the winner, show the politicians in a pluralist democracy where and how society should go – that the president wants to enter like an elephant in a porcelain bowl.
If this were to happen, it would take the form of a so-called Maidan or a colorful palace revolution – a change in the trajectory of the will of the people, who chooses the winner of the election.
We cannot rule out further personal and subjective involvement of Z. Čaputová, although she should be impartially above the situation due to her state function. The will of the majority of the people can be the, not yet disclosed, factor in thwarting democracy her personal ambitions to run for the position of head of state for the second time.
If Smer-SSD were to win, and it would standardly and fairly entrust the leader of this party with the formation of the government, and if Fico could win coalition partners during the negotiations – let’s not forget that in politics, never say never, for example with Fico and the Republic, where with a high probability, (former?) Progressive Slovakia did not figure in her, then Robert Fico would be “on the horse” and could be her strong opponent from the position of prime minister and replace her in the presidential chair.
Fico already managed something similar in 2016 with two subjects (#NETWORK and Most-Híd), which before the elections argued that it was not, and in the end it was different.
Zuzana Čaputová continuously shows in her attitudes and statements that she has no problem preferring other interests, her own or those of others, over the interests of the Slovak nation, which, according to her own words, she “doesn’t understand”.
Since she is internationally and even globally involved (she was ranked among the 100 most influential women in the world) – it was even thought that she could be the future head of NATO – foreign influence and interest may be more dominant in its attitudes after the elections than the Slovak ones. It is the foreign country that will be key in the reactions to the possible scenario of the Slovak Maidan bypassing the will of the people, democracy, and political culture.
And the controversial trip of two dozen members of the non-governmental sector together with some state officials, where they were supposed to attack the opposition and ask for intervention before the elections, in the headquarters of the EU and NATO may also fit into this scenario!
The Russian roulette has started, the drum is spinning, but the revolver is in someone else’s hand. He taps the voters, what’s the point?
Rafael Rafaj
