European Center-leftists Finally Bid Farewell To Fitzo's Party

• 17.10.2025, 22:30

Because of his flirtation with Putin.

The Party of European Socialists has finally bid farewell to the Smer party of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo, who has been accused of flirting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and undermining the rule of law in his own country.

European center-leftists in Amsterdam voted unanimously to expel Fitzo's Smer party for taking political positions in recent years that are "seriously and deeply at odds with the values and principles that socialists stand for," the document said.

"This is a unanimous, clear message. If you belong to the PES family, you share the values we all share," Secretary General Giacomo Filibek said after the vote at the group's congress in Amsterdam, writes AP.

Fizo's party's membership of the European Socialists was previously suspended because the Slovak prime minister had increasingly alienated himself from European socialists by stalling sanctions against Russia and breaking the rule of law in his country.

In May, Fitzo was the only leader of a European Union country to travel to Moscow for celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, despite EU calls for a boycott because Russia is waging war against Ukraine.