LAST MONTH Svina (“Pork”), a barely veiled cinematographic portrait of the venal political class in Slovakia, open to record crowds. In the February 29 elections, voters in Slovakia were just as motivated, turning out to be many to fire Smer, a left-wing party whose almost 12 uninterrupted 12 years had become synonymous with corruption and complacency. The winner, with 25% of the vote, was ordinary people and independent personalities (OLaNO), a vaguely center-right outfit that promises to clean up politics.
OLaNO was created ten years ago as a vehicle for the political career of Igor Matovic, a media baron who has become an anti-corruption arsonist with a penchant for stunt advertising. A seasoned activist, Mr. Matovic has focused on expanding his base across Slovakia under the slogan “Let’s fight the mafia together”, while avoiding potentially conflicting issues like abortion and immigration. “Many people wanted to show their anger and Matovic was able to present himself as a respectable figurehead for this feeling,” said Aneta Vilagi, political scientist at Comenius University in Bratislava.
The success of Mr. Matovic is largely linked to the murder, in February 2018, of Jan Kuciak, a young journalist who explores the links between politicians, oligarchs and organized crime. The murder sparked huge protests that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Smer Robert Fico and the election of Zuzana Caputova, a former environmental activist, as president. The trial of an oligarch accused of ordering the murder of Kuciak, which began in January and continues, revealed a network of allegedly filthy cooperation between twisted politicians, judges and law enforcement officials. All of this created fertile ground for OLaNO. A third of voters said that corruption was the most important problem.
M. Matovic’s 53 MPs, some of whom are said to not know, are a heterogeneous group, including social curators brought in to appeal to the hearts of rural Catholics in Slovakia. His quadripartite coalition project, which includes right-wing nationalists, also seems unwieldy. All are united in an opposite graft; less on fiscal or social policy. However, Eduard Heger, a OLaNO MP approached to become Minister of Finance, his party will aim to bring a “radical change” to public services. “This,” he adds, “will be the best government Slovakia has ever had.”
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the title “Another type of populism”
