Slovakia has taken a step towards authoritarism and anti-Westernism.

The second round of the presidential elections (April 6) has won the Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini.

Read more about why the pro-Western opposition lost and how these changes will affect the relations between Bratislava and Kyiv in an article by Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda's editor – Candidate from Fico: what consequences election of a pro-government politician as Slovakia's president will bear.

53.12% of voters have cast their votes for Peter Pellegrini against 46.88% for his opponent, pro-Western diplomat Ivan Korčok.

These elections have became another sociology failure, as two days before the voting day, two polls had predicted victory for both candidates with a minimal margin of 1.5%.

And despite the forecasts of sociologists, Ivan Korčok won in the first round, outpacing his opponent by almost 5.5%.

Why did the first round winner lose in the second?

One of the main reasons is the massive black PR campaign launched between the first and second rounds. Pellegrini's team (or rather, the team of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico) skillfully used the strategy that ensured victories for President Miloš Zeman in neighbouring Czechia.

The current campaign aimed to portray Ivan Korčok as a "war president" – a person who, if elected, would send Slovak soldiers to fight in Ukraine. And it doesn't matter that the President of Slovakia does not have such powers. On top of that, Korčok publicly supported only the continuation of military assistance to Kyiv, not the deployment of troops.

Instead, Pellegrini began to position himself as a "president of peace" between the first and second rounds, placing promises on billboards not to send Slovak troops to Ukraine.

Another instrument from "Zeman's playbook" is that the black PR against Korčok was voiced not by Pellegrini himself, but by individuals who formally did not work in his team.

Simultaneously, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also influenced the elections.

Even though Korčok won in many regions with the majority of ethnic Hungarians in the first round, everything changed with Pellegrini's urgent visit to Budapest and meeting with Orbán.

As a result, the majority of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia voted in the second round precisely for the candidate approved by Orbán.

Pellegrini, who gives the impression of a progressive-minded person, will become a more attractive cover, masking the country's turnaround.

Following this, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico may intensify his efforts to encroach upon the public sector, independent media and ultimately take control of the law enforcement system.

Furthermore, Fico has the opportunity to absorb the newly elected president's Voice party.

All this will allow the Slovak Prime Minister to come close to the level of personal power enjoyed by his Hungarian colleague Viktor Orbán.

The problem is that the current victory was achieved under anti-war slogans and demands for peace in Europe.

Consequently, this narrative, demonstrating its effectiveness, may become popular in elections in other countries as well.

By increasing the chances of victory for politicians who are like-minded with Fico and Orbán.

This significantly increases the risks for Ukraine.