Return of Illiberalism: The Results of the 2023 General Election in Slovakia
Return of Illiberalism: The Results of the 2023 General Election in Slovakia

Summary/Abstract: After a general overview of the context of the 2023 general election in Slovakia, the article provides a detailed analysis of the electoral results and support for political parties. Using both aggregate and individual level data, we show that the results were influenced by a combination of long-term features defining electoral support and voting behaviour in Slovakia and a more recent trend including weaker ideological attachment and the increased importance of leadership personality for political party preference. Also, it seems that the illiberal mobilization may be traced in the dynamic of electoral shifts in the context of different behaviour of various societal groups. Moreover, the return of illib- eral actors to power in Slovakia seems to have been characterized by a surge of votes for conservative or populist left-wing forces in the larger Slovak cities. Although this is not reflected in the turnout, at the individual level we can assume that liberal voters turned out in smaller numbers, while Smer voters may have been more mobilized, or some voters may have switched from other populist parties such as OĽaNO.

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