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There is still a chance (a substantial probability) that Turkey or Hungary would not even affirm it by supermajority or any majority at all given their pro-Russia stances, but so far, all other legislative bodies of NATO member states supported their joining by at least a 10-fold majority.1 And Slovakia showed the 4th highest rejection rate too in absolute terms as well; however, the countries that had an absolute rejection count higher than Slovakia typically had a legislative body at least twice the size that of Bratislava.

So, the question is what political reasons supported the decision of the nay sayers.

Endnotes

1 The French legislation voted in the National Assembly for (209), against (46), absentee (53), and the Senate for, (323) against, (17), and (8), a combined 656 electors present and less than 63 voting against the proposal, less than 10th of all present even if the supporters did not reach a ten-fold majority.

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    This prose is very dense and really needs to be unpacked. I would suggest starting at the beginning (Sweden and Finland are applying for NATO membership), discussing the process required for this to happen, discussing what other countries have done, and then explaining the issue of Slovakia, Hungary, and Turkey, ideally with a citation to your source for your assertions.
    – ohwilleke
    Sep 27, 2022 at 23:26
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    It would be useful if the question provided details of the vote in Slovakia.
    – Stuart F
    Sep 28, 2022 at 9:40
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    I would like to point out that Turkey is not pro-Russian and following a balance policy. This policy has gained the trust of both Ukrainians and Russians. You can read the details of the grain deal, POW exchange etc. Sep 28, 2022 at 10:57
  • Could you add references to the question (like links to the news reports or official government/parliament announcements)?
    – Roger V.
    Sep 28, 2022 at 12:54
  • AFAIK NATO membership for Finland and Sweden got approved by Slovak parliament Sep 28, 2022 at 12:54

1 Answer 1

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There are various unclear parts in your Q, but if it is why Slovakia's parliament (probably) voted less enthusiastically on the latest NATO expansion is that the population is nearly as pro-Russia as Hungary is (nowadays).

Most Slovaks want Russia to win Ukraine war

The representative survey named “How are you Slovakia?” has been conducted by MNFORCE and Seesame agencies and the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Those surveyed had to respond to the survey using a 10-point scale, according to which 1 means a clear victory for Russia and 10 for Ukraine.

Approximately a fifth of respondents said they wish for a clear victory for Russia, with more than half saying they are inclined toward a Russian win. Meanwhile, only a third said they tended towards Ukraine, and only 18% expressed no preference.

Divisions are clearly noticeable on the party level. For example, the overwhelming majority of voters of the SMER-SD of former Prime Minister Robert Fico are on the Russian side. [...]

Regarding the geographical differences, only the population of Bratislava has a majority of people wishing for Ukraine to win. [...]

In February 2022, before the invasion, 44% of people blamed NATO and the US for the tension on the Ukrainian borders, while only 33% blamed Russia.

Regarding NATO membership, only 45% supported it in the survey from 2021. Right after the invasion, support has risen, but it has started to decline again recently.

And their own NATO politics are a bit strange too...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine also came amid a tortuous debate about Slovakia’s place in NATO.. After years of argument, Bratislava finally signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States in early February.

For its critics, it spells the end of Slovakian sovereignty. Robert Fico, a former prime minister, called it “treason”, despite himself starting the process when in government.

And a bit like Orban, Fico has condemned the Russian invasion but is opposed to economic sanctions on Russia.

One Slovakian website says it was mainly the far-right which opposed the NATO expansion in parliament

As many as 126 MPs of 143 present MPs voted for Finland’s accession to the Alliance. Regarding Sweden, 124 of 144 present MPs supported the country’s decision to join NATO on September 27.

In addition to several MPs from different political parties, far-right MPs voted against the protocols en bloc.

So that would give 17-20 oppose or abstention votes (source isn't too clear on that), so that would not be Fico's party, which is socialist. The DCA with the US, back in Feb, faced a tighter vote though 79-60. From another article on those protests, it seem the far-right party which opposed both is People’s Party Our Slovakia, but they only have 7 votes in parliament nowadays. On the other hand they have 2021 splinter group in the The Republic, which also seems to have voted against, according to Euractiv:

Only members of the far-right parties People’s Party Our Slovakia and The Republic voted against it.

Interestingly, accession has been supported also by members of the SMER party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico. SMER sees the conflict in Ukraine differently than the official Slovak position.

According to Wikipedia, People's Party Our Slovakia won 17 seats in the 2020 election, but suffered several defections including that 5-seat new party splinter in the aftermath. Seemingly that was due mainly to disagreements over the party leader's powers rather than other policy.

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    Also of some interest, a Russian diplomatic attaché was apparently caught bribing/paying some disinfo websites in Slovakia lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/03/24/…
    – Fizz
    Sep 27, 2022 at 22:04
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    Note that the current government in Slovakia is undergoing a crisis right now (or has just ceased to function, depending on how you look into it). Also, Fico was fighting for survival (several of his close associates have been arrested on charges of corruption, he himself is accused), a chunk of his party split and deserted him, and he found a refuge in anti-EU, far-right rhetoric (despite himself and his party formerly being pro-EU and social oriented party, though with some fondness for former USSR and Russia) and by association, pro-Russian right now. This all played into the voting. Sep 29, 2022 at 10:49

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