EXCLUSIVE: Europe's socialists to exclude Fico's Smer party in October

Europe’s alliance of socialist parties will permanently expel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s party, Smer, at a congress next month, four people with direct knowledge of the decision told Euractiv’s flagship newsletter Rapporteur. 

The President of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Stefan Löfven, a former Swedish prime minister, will submit the expulsion for ratification when delegates gather in Amsterdam from 16 October. PES brings together national-level socialist and social democratic parties from all European Economic Area countries, plus the UK.

The move comes after progressives ran out of patience with Fico, who has cosied up to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, and stands accused of riding roughshod over the rule of law at home. In October 2023, Smer was suspended after forming a government with the nationalist SNS party.

The expulsion will leave Fico more isolated at the European level, with no route back into the mainstream where he once happily resided. In Brussels and Strasbourg, his lawmakers already operate on the margins of the Parliament, and he has frustrated EU efforts to sanction Russia and reduce reliance on Moscow’s energy.

“I believe that the fact that Europeans are pushing and that the people in Slovakia are pushing is going to open the eyes of many of his voters,” said Lucia Yar, an MEP from Progressive Slovakia, the main opposition party.

“They see that he’s not only been working with the nationalists, he’s been working with Putin, he’s been working with Xi Jinping, working with all kinds of authoritarians,” said Yar, who previously worked for Euractiv in Slovakia.

Smer has been contacted for a comment.

Anti-government protests are taking place in 16 cities on Tuesday evening, organised Progressive Slovakia and other smaller opposition parties.

Fico’s party was suspended from the PES back in 2006 for the very same reason: it went into government with the SNS party.

“It’s unlikely to have any impact in Slovakia,” said Anton Spisak, from the Centre for European Reform think tank, of the decision to expel the party from the group. “Fico has positioned himself as an opponent of the EU mainstream, and none of his voters will be bothered by this decision.”

“If anything, this decision is long overdue”, said Spisak.

UPDATE: This story has been updated with comment and context.

(mm, jp)