Head of State
Pellegrini sworn in as new President of Slovakia
The new Slovak President Peter Pellegrini. Photo
© Alek Vaclav/CTK/dpa
Slovakia is still in shock from the attack on Prime Minister Fico. Now the country has a new president from the left-nationalist camp. The opposition has a specific concern.
The Social Democrat and former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini is the new President of the Slovakia. The 48-year-old took the oath of office in front of the members of parliament in a solemn ceremony in the Philharmonic Hall in Bratislava. He also wanted to win the respect of those who did not vote for him, he said. Pellegrini called on people to overcome the social divide: “We must tear down this wall together, because we are one nation, one society, one Slovakia.”
Pellegrini is considered an ally of the left-wing nationalist head of government Robert Fico, who was recently seriously injured in an assassination attempt and was unable to attend the swearing-in ceremony in person. In the run-off election at the beginning of April, the former parliamentary president Pellegrini narrowly won against the liberal former foreign minister Ivan Korcok with 53.1 percent of the vote. The outgoing liberal president Zuzana Caputova decided not to run again.
President is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
The president’s duties in Slovakia are primarily representative. He appoints the head of government and the ministers, and he also represents the country with almost five and a half million inhabitants to the outside world. The president can veto laws, but this can be overruled by parliament. He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
With Pellegrini’s swearing-in, the left-wing nationalist camp has the two most important political offices in the country. The opposition fears that the coalition will now forcefully push through controversial projects such as the planned dissolution of the public radio and television broadcaster RTVS. It warns that Slovakia could follow Viktor Orban’s course in Hungary. Pellegrini’s predecessor Caputova signed a controversial judicial reform, but at the same time sent it to the Constitutional Court for review.
In his speech, Pellegrini stressed that many people in Slovakia were feeling insecure. “For us, war was just a word from the history books – and suddenly it’s here, within sight of our eastern border,” he said, referring to Ukraine. We must help our neighbouring country to achieve a just peace. He was not more specific. After his election, Prime Minister Fico stopped state arms deliveries to Ukraine and spoke out against the neighbouring country joining NATO in the future.
The opposition movement Slovensko, headed by former populist Prime Minister Igor Matovic, stayed away from the inauguration to protest against the fact that a representative of the Russian embassy was also invited. The party criticized this as showing “absolute ignorance of the suffering of the defenseless victims” of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Pellegrini’s further program included a Catholic thanksgiving service, a military parade and a lunch with the president, 15 senior citizens and 15 young people. His first foreign trip as president is to be to the Czech Republic.