Star Wars: Slovakia quarreled with the UK over influencers
Slovakia has accused the UK of interfering in the parliamentary elections that took place two years ago. Bratislava is convinced that London bribed influencers to "drown" Robert Fico's party on social media and help his rivals. This is a new phenomenon in the diplomatic relations between the two NATO allies. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
We need to consult
"The Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has summoned British Ambassador Nigel Baker for consultations in connection with published information from British sources about serious suspicions about [the] impact on internal affairs and interference in the democratic principles of a sovereign state," the press service of the Slovak Foreign Ministry said.
The head of the British diplomatic mission expressed Bratislava's concern about information published in the media about London's alleged desire to influence the results of the parliamentary elections held back in September 2023 in Slovakia.
The situation before the parliamentary elections in Slovakia, Bratislava, September 28, 2023
The Slovak Foreign Ministry asked London to provide "clear answers regarding the agreement that was to be concluded between the Foreign Office and the Zinc Network media agency on attracting influencers."
They also wanted to ask the ambassador if "there is any other agreement, other than the one mentioned in the media, concerning activities in Slovakia." The country's authorities have requested a list of opinion leaders in social networks who, on the basis of an agreement with the British side, "worked or are working in Slovakia."
Bratislava is interested in the amount of remuneration for Internet stars and the content of their published materials. The Slovak Foreign Ministry asked London to immediately terminate the agreements with them.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, speaking at a press conference, openly accused London of interfering in the elections, recalling that Great Britain and Slovakia are NATO allies. The situation is also complicated by the fact that the scandal between the states broke out at a time when London is trying to establish relations with the EU after Brexit. Secretary of State of the Slovak Foreign Ministry Marek Estok has already announced the government's plans to bring the issue of interference by the British authorities in the internal affairs of the EU country to the European Council for discussion.
Information war against the Russian Federation
A diplomatic scandal broke out between the two countries after the British website Declassified, an organization researching the activities of British government agencies and their role in world politics, published material that the United Kingdom secretly funded individuals engaged in political propaganda through YouTube in Slovakia and other EU countries.
The publication reported that before the parliamentary elections in the republic, bloggers were supposed to criticize Robert Fico's Direction — Social Democracy party and actively support the liberal political movement Progressive Slovakia. As a result, the Fico party became the winner of the vote.
Michal Simecka, leader of the Progressive Slovakia Party and former Vice-President of the European Parliament, speaks to supporters at the party's election headquarters in Bratislava, September 30, 2023
As the authors of the investigation found out, £10 million was allocated from the British budget for the implementation of the program. Bloggers from Central and Eastern Europe were most often involved in propaganda.
It is believed that in this way the United Kingdom waged an information war against the Russian Federation, trying to prevent politicians loyal to it from coming to power in the EU countries. The Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orban and Robert Fico, became famous for this.
They have repeatedly blocked the process of approving sanctions against Russia. For example, Bratislava vetoed the 18th package of restrictions six times. Recently, Fico stated that Slovakia would not block the adoption of restrictive measures against Moscow, as it "achieved everything it could" during the discussion of guarantees against potential damage due to the ban on Russian gas imports.
At the same time, Fico strongly demonstrates that Brussels forced him to take these measures.
"In order to preserve our positions in the EU, we must survive this dark period of time in this international organization, which we consider our living space. We have completed the first stage of the fight against the imbecile proposal of the European Commission to stop any Russian gas supplies to the European Union from January 1, 2028. I have already repeated for the thousandth time that this ideological proposal, driven by an obsession against Russia, primarily harms the entire EU and specifically Slovakia," the prime minister explained.
London denies everything
Slovak media reports that the country's police are now checking information in the press about the alleged intentions of the British government to influence the election results. In addition, an investigation is underway into "the illegal use of financial resources from EU sources for political activities, financing from abroad of legal entities and individuals in connection with possible influence on the political situation in the republic."
The Foreign Office rejected all the accusations of the Slovak authorities against London, calling it a lie.
According to the British authorities, they only encouraged young people to participate in the democratic processes in their countries, without taking into account their political views.
One of the representatives of the parliamentary opposition from Progressive Slovakia, Mikhail Shimechka, called the statements of the authorities about possible British interference in the 2023 election campaign unfounded.
"This is just another nonsense that Robert Fico uses to distract attention from his own failures," he said.
However, the idea was probably that since the core electorate of the Direction — Social Democracy Fico party is older people, it is necessary to increase turnout among young people who are more sympathetic to the pro—European competitors from Progressive Slovakia. But this plan eventually failed, as not many young voters came to the polls and Robert Fico's party won — for the third time in a row.
What do the experts think
Political scientist Natalia Eliseeva, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that European countries are trying to put pressure on Bratislava because of its position on Russia.
— They are beginning to act in various harsh ways on those countries that resist or resist pressure on Russia. These are economic restrictions, and this is the escalation of the domestic political situation," the expert explained.
In a conversation with Izvestia, Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, compared what was happening to interference in the elections in Romania, which, like Slovakia, is also part of the European Union.
— In this case, we are seeing it again. There were jokes in Romania that global information communities, including CNN and the BBC, that is, representatives of the United States and Great Britain, would re-elect Romanian candidates until they won," the political scientist pointed out.
According to her, there is evidence of direct financing of certain agents of influence, there are certain non-governmental organizations that also receive funding from special services and support certain candidates.
— And if something went wrong, then it can be fixed. In this case, the positions of Brussels, London and Washington are taken into account. Now the British are trying to oversee the European direction. This can be seen by the way they actively interfere in the elections precisely in the format of preparing public opinion and supporting candidates," the expert is sure.
She added that London competes with Brussels in which of them defends its rules more clearly.
— This is an indicator that there is no democracy in these European countries. States like Slovakia are trying to resist, but Romania is not resisting," the analyst concluded.
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