Most Slovaks oppose Slovakia's withdrawal from NATO despite Fico's statements
Kyiv • UNN
More than half of Slovaks rejected the idea of the country's neutrality, despite Prime Minister Robert Fico's statement. An AKO poll showed that 50.6% of respondents oppose Slovakia's withdrawal from NATO.
A public opinion poll published shortly after an unexpected remark by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico that "neutrality would suit Slovakia" shows that public support for this idea is low: more than half of Slovaks completely rejected it, Euractiv reports, writes UNN.
Details
The AKO survey for TV JOJ 24 involved 1000 respondents who were asked whether Slovakia should become a neutral country. The question was accompanied by an explanation that "becoming a neutral country would mean leaving NATO and relying solely on its own army."
According to the results, 50.6% were against Slovakia's neutrality, 30.8% were in favor, 16.1% were undecided, and 2.5% refused to answer.
The debate arose after Fico's statements that "neutrality would suit Slovakia - in times of senseless armament" - before coalition and opposition parties met to agree on increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP in accordance with new NATO targets.
Most politicians, including President Peter Pellegrini, dismissed Fico's comments as a distraction.
However, the results differed depending on voters' political loyalty. Among opposition voters, opposition to neutrality ranged from 70% to 98%. Conversely, 58% of voters of Fico's left-populist Smer-SD party and 67% of voters of the far-right SNS stated that they supported the idea of neutrality.
Voters of the second largest coalition party, the left-wing Hlas-SD, were ambivalent: 42% opposed neutrality, and 27% were undecided.
Hlas-SD leader Matúš Šutaj Eštok on TA3 on Sunday emphasized the party's position, calling the issue a "red line." He warned that if anyone considers changing the coalition agreement, removing the clause confirming Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO, Hlas would immediately leave the government.
According to the Globsec Trends survey conducted in May 2025, 72% of Slovaks support NATO membership - one of the highest figures in recent years.
Addition
However, the idea of Slovak neutrality is not entirely new. It was advocated by Slovakia's first highly controversial Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, under whose authoritarian leadership from 1990 to 1998 Slovakia was not invited to join the EU or NATO, the publication writes.
Mečiar argued that if "the West does not want us, then perhaps we should turn to the East," or given Slovakia's geographical location in Central Europe, it could serve as a "bridge between East and West."
Fico reiterated the second idea during his previous governments, but only now, in his fourth term as prime minister, has he questioned Slovakia's membership in the EU or NATO, the publication notes.