Direction–Social Democracy

Major parties include the populist Smer (“Direction”), the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union, the Slovak National Party, the Party of the Hungarian Coalition, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, and the Christian Democratic Movement.

…leader of the populist party Smer, Robert Fico, becoming prime minister.

…helped found the political party Direction–Social Democracy, known as SMER (smer is Slovak for “direction”), which he still leads. A veteran politician, Fico has survived political setbacks, corruption scandals, and an assassination attempt in his long career. Since 2018 he has been pursuing a more authoritarian, nationalistic path.