Slovak populist party walks back nominee's suggestion of public vote on leaving NATO, EU

The controversy over the nomination of Rudolf Huliak for Slovak environment minister, staunchly opposed by the country's president, has been further stoked by the politician's call for a referendum on Slovakia leaving both the European Union and NATO, Slovakia’s Pravda newspaper reported on Oct. 22.

Huliak claimed that the ultranationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), of which he is a member, would try to initiate a binding referendum on Slovakia's withdrawal from the blocs, but the party will promote its program "as much as the weight of their mandate in the coalition will allow."

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Afterward, party spokeswoman Zuzana Škopcová emphasized that SNS "has never had and does not intend" to hold a referendum on withdrawal from international organizations of which Slovakia is a member. According to her, Huliak's opinion does not reflect the party's policy and was "grossly taken out of context."

The leader of Slovakia’s Hlas social democratic party, Peter Pellegrini, also rejected Huliak 's idea, saying that the ruling coalition would not initiate a vote on the country's withdrawal from NATO.

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Earlier, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová said that she would not approve the appointment of Rudolf Huliak as environment minister. According to news outlet Dennik N, the rightwing politician has questioned the climate crisis and attacked non-governmental organizations.

However, the pro-Russian leader of the Smer party, Robert Fico, who may become the prime minister of Slovakia, has spoken in Huliak’s defense.

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