Slovakia has a new president: Amid the shock of the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Fico, Pellegrini was sworn in. He called for national unity – but conflicts are already looming
Under increased security measures, Peter Pellegrini was sworn in as President of Slovakia. The 48-year-old took the oath of office in front of members of parliament in a solemn ceremony at the Philharmonic Hall in Bratislava.
In his speech, Pellegrini called on people to overcome the social divide. Slovakia is divided by a “high spiritual wall,” he explained. “We must tear down this wall together, because we are one nation, one society, one Slovakia.”
Referring to the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico, in which he was critically injured a month ago, the new president said: “This wall is stained with blood.” Fico did not attend the swearing-in ceremony because he is still recovering from the attack.
Close election result in April
Pellegrini is considered an ally of the left-nationalist head of government. The former parliamentary president served in several ministerial posts in previous governments of the left-populist and was also previously head of government.
In the runoff election at the beginning of April, Pellegrini narrowly won against the pro-Western, liberal former foreign minister Ivan Korcok with 53.1 percent of the vote. The outgoing liberal president Zuzana Caputova decided not to run again. She is considered a strong supporter of the attacked Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Pellegrini calls for just peace
Pellegrini’s election was seen as confirmation of the government’s move away from this very support. In his speech today, Pellegrini stressed that many people in Slovakia are 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.
The neighboring country must be helped to achieve a just peace. He did not go into more detail. Prime Minister Fico is clearly pro-Russian. After his election, he stopped state arms deliveries to Ukraine and spoke out against the neighboring country joining NATO in the future.
Judicial reform is a point of contention
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.
She warns that Slovakia could follow Viktor Orban’s course in Hungary. Pellegrini’s predecessor Caputova signed a controversial judicial reform but sent it to the Constitutional Court for review. Thousands of people have recently repeatedly taken to the streets to protest against Fico’s measures.
Parliament can overrule the president
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.