Slovakia’s Populists Harness Anti-Americanism for Their Own Ends

Antipathy for the US combined with sympathy for Russia makes this country radically different from Poland and the Czech Republic.

In February 2023, the Slovak parliament approved a defense contract with the US that addressed technical challenges, such as the presence of American military experts on Slovak territory. After President Zuzana Čaputová signed it, the then opposition party Smer put up billboards with the names of MPs who voted for this treaty and above them a large inscription: “traitors.” Smer also organized demonstrations where politicians called the president an American agent and encouraged the crowd to chant that she was an “American whore.” The crowd roared enthusiastically at these words.