Slovakia has not yet experienced such long-term “flirtations” with Russia as the Czech Republic did, says Czech political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková. “Few realize it today, but we went through this already under Václav Klaus and Miloš Zeman. These were pro-Russian, or sometimes pro-Chinese currents, which were even more pronounced than in other European Union countries.”

In Hungary, Orbán’s system is entrenched in all institutions. In Slovakia, things are happening that are not compatible with European values or with democracy as such, but they have been happening for only two years, says MEP Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová in an interview.

Former Czech EU Commissioner Věra Jourová describes in an interview Fico’s willingness to change draft laws to avoid losing EU funds. She also denies that Michal Šimečka went to Brussels to beg for Slovakia to lose money. “It was an absolute lie,” she says.

There are more women than men in Slovakia, yet we often talk about them as a minority – from whom disproportionately higher expectations are placed. For a small country like Slovakia, however, it is a luxury not to utilize half of its potential, agreed the women from the Slovak diplomatic and academic community.