President Believes UK Will Answer Legitimate Questions by Slovak Government

Bratislava, 31 July (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini said on Thursday that he thinks the turnout in a general election isn't a problem that should be addressed by any other country, and if another country thinks that it needs to intervene, it should provide information about it in a transparent manner and talk to Slovakia before doing so. Speaking in reaction to claims that Great Britain meddled in the Slovak general election in 2023, Pellegrini stated that he therefore believes Britain understands the Slovak position and will answer the legitimate questions by the Slovak government in good faith. "I am the President of the Slovak Republic, who is a clear supporter of Slovakia's anchoring in the European Union (EU) and NATO. I care very much about good relations with our allies and that's why I always remind the government not to forget about the West in its foreign policy oriented towards all four cardinal directions. I am asking what undermines trust in allied relations more: that someone, under still unclear circumstances, spends its state money to influence an election in an allied country, regardless of its intention, or that the affected country points to this step and expresses its objections against it?" Pellegrini has asked on a social network. Pellegrini said that he is closely following the developments around the suspicions of meddling in the election. However, he feels that the essence of the problem is being missed in the political discussion. He pointed to the opposition's statements that the Slovak government is worsening relations with the United Kingdom with its action. "But I ask myself: did this situation arise from the latest actions of the Slovak government, or from the decision of the British cabinet to finance campaigns in other countries to enhance the voter turnout of a specific group of people?" he said. The president doesn't understand why the British government has spent £10 million of taxpayers' money to promote the turnout of a specific group of people, namely youth, in elections in other countries through a media agency. He pointed out that voter turnout in Slovakia is increasing, while the United Kingdom saw a decline in last year's general election. "So isn't supporting voter turnout more of a challenge for British governments on their home turf?" he asked. He also wondered what Britain's reaction would be if any other country spent money from its budget to mobilise a single voter group before its election. "For example, migrants who already have the right to vote. Would the British government really not strongly oppose such an action?" he asked. The head of state also responded to the statement that concerns about Slovakia's continued membership of the EU and NATO are growing and that it's therefore natural for our allies to be concerned about the election results so that this doesn't happen. "And isn't it by chance that Great Britain is the only one to have left the EU so far?" he pointed out. On Tuesday (29 July), Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) claimed that the UK Foreign Office paid influencers through a media agency to sway the outcome of the 2023 Slovak general election to the detriment of Smer-SD and in favour of Progressive Slovakia (PS), referring to a story published on the marker.sk website. In response, the British Foreign Office rejected Fico’s claim, stating that the United Kingdom did not seek to influence the election outcome or support any specific party. The campaign, it said, aimed to encourage young voters to participate in the election process. ko/mcs