Populist former prime minister in Slovakia signs a deal to form a new government

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country’s military support for Ukraine is poised to return to office after his political party signed a coalition government deal with two other parties. The leftist Smer, or Direction, party captured 22.9% of the vote in Slovakia’s Sept 30 parliamentary election. The party’s leader, populist former Prime Minister Robert Fico, needed to find coalition partners to govern with a parliamentary majority. The memorandum signed Wednesday provides for a coalition of Smer, the left-wing Hlas party and the ultra-nationalist and pro-Russia Slovak National Party. Fico said he hoped to represent Slovakia at a summit of European Union leaders later this month.