Slovakia’s brain drain ‘picks up pace’ under populist leader Robert Fico as young Slovaks see little future in an increasingly intolerant society

The newly elected populist Fico - who promised he would stop military aid to Ukraine, promote conservative family values, and muzzle the courts that have been investigating high-level corruption cases tied to his allies - pursues a mix of nationalism, leftist populism and social conservatism and brought Slovakia closer to Viktor Orbán’s Hungary.

Like Orbán, Fico spreads pro-Russian propaganda and tries to muzzle independent media.