Coalition talks loom after win for former Slovak PM Fico

Bratislava [Slovakia], October 2: Slovakia's former prime minister Robert Fico and his left-wing nationalist party have won the country's parliamentary elections, in a victory that could halt Bratislava's military aid for neighbouring Ukraine.
But difficult coalition negotiations will likely await Fico, who had vowed ahead of the election to only provide Ukraine with civilian support, and stop military aid.
Only the far-right parties share that position, and Fico has repeatedly distanced himself from them. Fico's SMER-SSD ("Direction - Slovak Social Democracy") opposition party had garnered 22.9 percent of the vote with ballots in 99.98 percent of electoral districts now counted, according to the preliminary results of the electoral commission in Bratislava on Sunday.
This gives Fico's party an unassailable lead over the liberal party ProgresivneSlovensko ("Progessive Slovakia," PS), which came in second place with 18 percent. PS has never previously held seats in Slovakia's parliament.
Coalition talks will now decide the future direction of foreign policy in Slovakia, which is a member of both the EU and NATO. Fico is expected to turn to third-place finisher HLAS-SD ("Voice - Social Democracy"), which received 14.7 percent of the vote, for coalition talks. The party, led by former prime minister Peter Pellegrini, split from Fico's party three years ago.
Pellegrini's party, like Fico's SMER-SSD, favours a strong welfare state, but has remained committed to further military aid for Ukraine. Pellegrini appears set to play kingmaker following the elections, as he would also have the option of joining with the liberal PS to form a multi-party coalition government.
Source: Qatar Tribune