Slovak Academy of Sciences

The Two Faces of Slovakia’s Prime Minister: One For Home, One For the World

Since then, he has strived to make amends. In early April, he joined the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on her trip to Ukraine's capital and announced that Slovakia would hand over its Soviet-era air defence system to the country.

Unconvinced by Democracy: Czechs Nostalgic for Communist Past, Slovaks Even More So

"The evaluation of the previous regime as better is the result of a comparison with the present, which can be a source of dissatisfaction for some, so much so that they come to believe life was better under the previous regime," said Bohumil Búzik, a sociologist at the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Who Wants to Vote? The Spectacular Failure of Referenda in Slovakia

"This referendum, like several others before it, is a form of political campaign and anti-government mobilisation. But with regards to its strong signature collection effort and the level of discontent with the current government, it could be precisely this plebiscite that ends up being very successful," political scientist Juraj Marusiak of the Slovak Academy of Sciences tells BIRN.

Slovakia’s Remade Government: Old Wine in a New Bottle

Still, describing Heger's cabinet as "new" is arguably a step too far. Heger from the OLaNO (Ordinary People and Independent Personalities) movement merely swapped seats with party leader Matovic, and five of the six ministers who resigned during the crisis have since returned to their posts, with the only new face at the health department.