Fico’s Smer Loses Ground in Popularity Polls
Recent opinion polls indicate a significant shift in Slovakia's political landscape, with Prime Minister Robert Fico's ruling Smer-SD (NI) party no longer holding the title of the most popular party. The pro-European, liberal opposition movement Progressive Slovakia (PS/RE) has overtaken Smer-SD, according to an Ipsos poll commissioned by the Slovak newspaper Denník N.
The Ipsos poll reveals that Progressive Slovakia now leads with 22.6% of voter support, while Smer-SD trails closely behind at 21.9%. The ruling party Hlas-SD (NI) ranks third with 12.8%, followed by the extremist party Republika at 7.7%. Other opposition parties, including KDH (6.9%) and SaS (6.2%), would also secure seats in parliament. However, the Slovak National Party (SNS), part of Fico's coalition government, is projected to fall short of the 5% threshold, garnering only 2.4% of the vote.
PS leader Michal Šimečka expressed gratitude for the poll results, noting an increase in disillusionment among government voters. He stated, "We are talking to them, visiting them all over the country, delivering newspapers, and pointing out the lies and failures of Smer. Thanks to this, trust in us is rising, and Fico is falling lower and lower," he claimed on Instagram.
While Fico did not directly address the poll results, he cautioned against trusting polls during a press conference where he congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election. He asserted, “I communicate this message to the citizens of Slovakia because the media always tend to lie, to create a different picture from the real one. And 90% of polls are conducted specifically on request, to show what is not true.”
The decline in Fico's popularity is mirrored in credibility ratings. Smaller polling firms like NMS and SCIO have consistently shown Progressive Slovakia in the lead for several months. This Ipsos poll marks the first instance since the September 2023 parliamentary elections that it has reported PS overtaking Smer.
Ipsos also assessed politicians' trustworthiness, revealing a drop in public trust for Fico from 38% in September to 32% currently. This trend aligns with a recent AKO poll for TV JOJ, which indicated that Fico has slipped from second to fifth place in trustworthiness rankings, with 32% of Slovaks expressing trust in him, down from 45% in June.
According to the AKO poll, Slovakia's most trusted politician remains President Peter Pellegrini, with a trust rating of 51%. He is followed by PS leader Michal Šimečka at 40% and KDH opposition leader Milan Majerský at 38%. This shift in public sentiment highlights the evolving political dynamics in Slovakia as voters reassess their support for the ruling party and its leaders.
