Fico Appointed PM For The Third Time, Will Head To EUCO Summit

Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová has appointed Robert Fico as prime minister, making it the third time that he has taken office after two previous periods as PM from 2006-10 and 2012-18. Fico will now head to the European Council summit taking place in Brussels 26-27 October.

• During his period in opposition, Fico shifted his and his Smer-SD party's stance from broadly pro-EU centre-left to a more eurosceptic, Russophile, and socially conservative one. During the campaign Fico promised 'not a round more' of Slovakian ammunition would go to Ukraine under his gov't, a stark difference from the outgoing pro-Kyiv gov't in Bratislava.
• Fico's Smer-SD won a plurality in the 30 September legislative election and was able to form a majority coalition with the centre-left Hlas-SD of former PM Peter Pellegrini and the right-wing nationalist Slovak Nationalist Party (SNS). The pan-European Party of European Socialists (PES) has already suspended Smer-SD and Hlas-SD due to their forming a coalition with SNS highlighting how isolated the new gov't could find itself among its EU partners.
• Should Fico implement policies similar to those of Hungary or Poland with regards to the judiciary, media or other areas falling under 'rule of law' issues the country could find itself subject to similar infringement proceedings, risking suspension of cohesion or RRF funding.