Although Marek spent a few years studying and working abroad, he never expected to leave his native Slovakia permanently. He had a group of close friends and a festival to run in the east of the country.
But he changed his mind last September after the re-election of Robert Fico, a populist who promised he would stop military aid to Ukraine, promote conservative family values, and muzzle the courts that have been investigating high-level corruption cases tied to his allies.
“The election was the last straw for me,” said Marek, a DJ and concert promoter who recently moved to Prague. “I’m not saying everything in the Czech Republic is ideal, but I would rather be here than back home.”
Like tens of thousands of other young progressive Slovaks, Marek finds his country increasingly close-minded, corrupt and out of sync with the liberal west. Fico’s mix of nationalism, leftist populism and social conservatism has brought Slovakia closer to Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. Like Orbán, Fico spreads pro-Russian propaganda and tries to muzzle independent media.
The country of 5.5 million people has been haemorrhaging young elites for decades; according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 20% of university students leave to study abroad, compared with the EU’s average of just 4%. But since Fico’s comeback the numbers have risen even further, said Michal Vašečka, president of the Bratislava Policy Institute.
“The young generation no longer believes in Slovakia,” Vašečka said. “Once they leave, there is nothing for them to come back to. They consider the country a backwater.”
The prime beneficiary of this exodus is the Czech Republic, which receives “the creme de la creme of Slovak society”, Vašečka said. More than half of Slovakia’s students graduating from Czech colleges end up staying there, drawn by its livelier job market, more tolerant society and minimal language barrier.
Jakub, a 23-year-old student from Central Slovakia, moved to Prague last month to work as a flight attendant for the Czech airline SmartWings – the first step in fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. He said he was tired of Slovakia’s corrupt business climate, which has only become worse since Fico’s election.
“Most people in my bubble are totally frustrated with the election result and are at least thinking about leaving,” he said. “The Slovak society has become incredibly polarised and there is a lot of pent-up aggression.”
Much of that aggression is aimed at minorities, especially the LGBTQ+ community, which was deeply shaken by the 2022 murder of two people in front of a popular gay nightclub in Bratislava. According to a recent survey, 55% of Slovaks believe the LGBTQ+ movement is “an immoral and decadent ideology”.
Slovak politicians are only pouring oil on the flames. Ľuboš Blaha, deputy leader of Fico’s party Smer, has repeatedly warned against “gender ideology” and “fascism in rainbow colours”.
Raising children in such a society would be inconceivable, said Tatiana Jančáriková, who left Slovakia with her family last year.
“I can’t control if my children turn out to be gay, or trans,” said the mother of two who had worked as a strategic communications expert for the previous Slovak government before moving to Prague. “But even if these issues won’t regard them personally, the atmosphere in Slovakia has become absolutely unbearable. I just don’t want them to grow up in a place where mean things would be said about their friends.”
Although she and her husband moved to the Czech Republic primarily for career reasons, she finds it hard to imagine ever taking her children back to Slovakia. “Prague is more liberal. It’s normal to see two guys holding hands in public. That’s something I want for my children – to live in a place that’s free and open.”
Slovakia isn’t losing just brains: capital is fleeing as well. Some of the country’s biggest businesses, such as real estate developer HB Reavis and tech developer Vacuumlabs have moved to the Czech Republic, citing corruption and a hostile political environment.
Even Slovakia’s top security conference Globsec, which had in the past attracted speakers including Ursula von der Leyen, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Pope Francis and Emmanuel Macron, decided to move its venue to Prague this year. The decision came after Fico announced he would withdraw state funds for Globsec, which he dismissively called “a place where George Soros comes to have his picture taken”.
It’s hard for young liberal Slovaks to return to such a suffocating atmosphere, said Daniela Hanušová, a film curator who left the country right after high school. Her working-class parents always encouraged her and her three siblings to leave Slovakia as soon as possible. Three out of the four now live abroad.
She returns about three times a year to see her family, friends and colleagues. But when asked whether she would consider moving back permanently, she shakes her head: “There are few things I am more certain about than the fact that I will never go back to Slovakia.”
• This article was amended on 1 April 2024. An earlier version said the software company Eset was among companies that have relocated to the Czech Republic; in fact, while its owner and co-founder Miroslav Trnka decided to move to Prague at the end of last year, the company remains incorporated in Slovakia. It was further amended on 2 April 2024 to remove some personal details, and to add speech marks in the headline.
