By Andrej Sekulović
Milan Uhrik is a Slovak MEP and Vice-President of the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group in the EU parliament. In Slovakia, he is the founder of the Republic Party. We spoke to him about the challenges facing Europe and the political situation in Slovakia, as well as about mass migration and the threats of globalism.
Mr. Uhrik, you are the Vice-President of the European group ESN or Europe of Sovereign Nations. Can you please tell us more about this group and the policies you advocate for?
We have come together because we share the goal of making a significant impact on Europe’s political future through decisive action and strategic planning. We choose this path not because it is easy, but because it is necessary to realize our shared vision of a strong, united, forward-looking Europe of Homelands. When it comes to opinions on individual policies, we are very honest. NO to mass migration, NO to the Green Deal and NO to war-mongering. And YES to peace, YES to good relations with other countries, YES to freedom of speech and expression, YES to a strong European industry, a strong economy and prosperity of sovereign European countries.
While in EU elections 2024 the conservative and right-wing candidates were very sucessfull, Ursula von der Leyen and the EPP are once again rather cooperating with the liberals and the leftists. How do you comment this and do you think we can expect any meaningful changes from the new European Commission?
This observation has a simple explanation. The division into left and right has long ceased to exist and in the media discourse serves only to slander some, especially sovereignist political forces. Do you see the harmony of relations between the EPP, S&D, Renew and sometimes other groups? This is not about the left and the right. This is about globalists who are unelected, irrevocable, want to rule from distant offices and want to determine how others should live. And we, the sovereignists, stand against them. We say that democratically elected governments should be as close as possible to the people, to the reality of life and should be changed in case of failure. The globalists stand on the side of diktat, regulations, tons of documents, huge bureaucracy and censorship. We, the sovereignists, stand on the side of freedom, democracy and the possibility of choice.
Mass migrations are a big problem for European nations today. How do you view current policies of EU in this regard and what policies should be enacted in your opinion? Do you support the concept of »remigration«?
EU policies have been the same for over a decade and the EU is sticking to them despite the fact that they are clearly failing, making our streets less safe and draining the budgets and social systems of European countries. The new pact on asylum and migration has brought nothing new. This pact is just “mandatory redistribution / quotas” in a new guise, reinforced with blackmail mechanisms and fines against countries. I cannot agree with such a thing.
The idea of ”remigration” is interesting and can help, although the basis should be strong protection of external borders, identification of people coming to Europe from volatile regions and the restoration of the rule of law over no-go zones in our suburbs. The safety of our citizens must be the priority.
You are also the founder of the Slovakian party Republika. Please tell us a bit more about this party and the general political situation in your country?
Republika is a patriotic, conservative party that we could place in the center-right. We recognize the important role of national and cultural heritage, traditional family, balanced foreign policy, sovereignty and the implementation of politics as close as possible to the people, for the people. I consider these values to be exceptional even in the Slovak political space, because most parties care more about what their partners in Brussels and Washington say than what their own voters say. The current situation in Slovakia, but also in Europe, shows that the demand for patriotic parties is growing because they are disappointed with those they have voted for so far. Change is gonna come.
Our country Slovenia has a communist past, similarly like Slovakia. Here, we still have powerful networks of ex-Communists turned liberals or democrats, who control a big portion of public and political life. We also have a phenomenon called »Yugonostalgia«, a glorification of communist past, as many people view Yugoslavia as part of the »good old times«. What is the situation with the leftist hegemony in Slovakia and what is the attitude of people towards communism?
We probably can’t talk about glorifying this historical stage here, but a certain part of the population naturally remembers these times. For them, these times meant an active part of life, social security and predictability. Compared to today’s fast-paced world and information chaos, where they don’t know what will happen tomorrow and where the truth is often obscured by the media, this is a natural reaction. That’s why some political parties are trying to appeal to them with programs in the area of work, social affairs and family. And it should also be acknowledged that most of today’s infrastructure (for example, apartments and houses) in Slovakia was also built during this period. So there are more arguments and reasons why there is a certain nostalgia, and I respect it. Our fathers and mothers have great life experience and can compare both regimes, the former one with the current one, because they lived a significant part of their lives in both.
Another issue that EU is forcing on the nation states are the LGBT+ issues. What is the current situation with LGBT+ ideology in Slovakia? Are the any attempts to force it into schools, etc?
This dangerous ideology, which attacks our children and families, does not avoid Slovakia either. There are progressive groups in the parliamentary opposition that want to push this agenda. The government officially has the protection of children from the LGBT agenda in the coalition agreement, but even within this coalition there is a group of people who support NGOs and an agenda of this type. If our party did not intervene and create public pressure, several “rainbow” courses and events would take place in schools. So we have to be very attentive and at the same time work at every political level, if its on local, European or international level.
Conservative parties and movements in Europe are facing with growing repression in some countries. They are being accused of hate speech and censored. How do you see this troubelsome development and what should be done to bring back true democratic values?
The globalists and progressives will not stop. They will lie, they will use their media, they will abuse justice, they will even try to kill conservatives and democratically elected officials who stand in their way. We saw their tries in Europe. We saw it in Butler, Pennsylvania, where they wanted to eliminate Mr Donald Trump. We as politicians can only do one thing. Tell the truth, present our plans and when we get the opportunity, implement them for the benefit of our citizens. Our citizens, in turn, must create some protection against media lies, because especially before the elections media will spread the lies and various narratives 24/7. As I said, times are changing. And I think that in Slovenia there is also hope that Mr. Janez Janša, a conservative and a patriot, will return to the prime minister’s chair again.
For the end please tell us what are the future plans of ESN? With which other groups will you work together in the coming term and what does the future hold for Europe in your views?
I think that in the current distribution of power there are many topics where we can cooperate with many factions. There is the topic of so-called green policies (which are not very green in reality), mass migration, the restart of European prosperity, the question of peace on our continent, as well as demography, security and foreign policy. ESN is a new, young faction that will strive to expand and spread its influence, as well as to contribute with bold proposals in committees and in plenary. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are looking forward to it.