A series of large-scale protests has gripped Slovakia since December, in response to a range of failings on the part of its government. This resistance is deep-rooted, stretching far back into Slovakia’s past. Over the course of more than a decade, Prime Minister Robert Fico and his party have been the source of significant damage to Slovakia; the country’s strong opposition to him has accumulated over a long time, and the onset of recent events has allowed it to soar. This article provides an overview of Fico, his political role, the Slovak opposition, and key moments that led to this situation.
Robert Fico is the leader of the populist Smer-SD party, and has been a figure in Slovak politics since the 1990s. Smer’s policies are statist, and allowed a massive increase in the Slovak welfare state. Smer’s reputation is that of a party that does anything to appeal to voters; they started as a standard social democracy, but principle has never guided the party, and it has switched positions often in order to gain votes. In the past, Smer was pro-EU, and even introduced the Euro in Slovakia. However, today, the party is Eurosceptic, in keeping with its populist heritage; it is also anti-American, pro-Putin, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, was vaccine-sceptic.
Smer’s rule has been associated with significant corruption. Its terms in power have been rocked by countless scandals, including bribery, overpriced tenders, the tunnelling of public finance, and even the kidnapping of a former Vietnamese businessman and politician. The peak of Smer’s dark side was the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancé, plotted by a businessman close to Smer. It sparked massive protests, and led to Fico´s resignation and subsequent electoral defeat.
After the murder and its aftermath, new parties took over the electorate on which Smer relied. Fico, in order to attract new votes, started to adopt increasingly conservative, nationalistic, and pro-Russian rhetoric. This turned out to be a successful strategy. He exploits hard times of covid crisis, energetic crisis and war on Ukraine. He presents himself as a leader who will promote peace and the end of the war, which resonated with voters.
Parliamentary elections were held on 30th September 2023. Fico´s party Smer-SD, after exploiting the coalition crisis of the last government, won. They were very active in opposition, and organized massive protests against the former government with very aggressive rhetoric. This aroused the sympathy of people who disagreed with the government and made them the strongest opposition party. On 25 October 2023, the president appointed his fourth cabinet. They formed a coalition with Hlas-SD (a breakaway from Smer) and the Slovak National Party (a nationalist-populist party).
Why is Fico still in power given his history? One reason is that he is perceived as a strong leader who ensures stability. There were two periods in the interim when the “democratic opposition” formed governments. Both were unstable, occupied with personal bickering, and resulted in snap elections. Coalitions were fragmented between ideologically different parties, and had disputes on matters of principle- for example on whether to increase welfare benefits. On the other hand, Fico´s previous cabinets were stable, with no coalition crises and parties that cooperated smoothly.
As soon as Fico’s coalition seized power, it introduced amendments to the criminal code, granting amnesty to Fico´s convicted allies. This provoked large-scale resistance from the public, the parliamentary opposition, the president, and even the European Commission. The outrage was mainly caused by the lowering of sentences and statutes of limitation for financial crimes. Other conditions were also relaxed. For example, theft up to 700€ is no longer a criminal offence, but a contravention. These changes are correctly perceived as an attack on the rule of law. The only consolation is a slight liberalisation of drug laws.
The sleaze of the new coalition did not stop at that. It led a purge of the police, in which many corruption investigators lost their jobs. On top of all this, the son of a prominent Smer MP was made the head of the Slovak spy agency.
Fico is known for his willingness to repress and bully those who represent the opposition against him, such as journalists and students. An example is the outrageously brutal police raid at a club in Bratislava, in which a few young people were arrested for drug offences. There was also some hype in the media and public regarding the Minister of Culture, who purged the heads of cultural institutions and generally wished to make culture more “national” by getting rid of liberally thinking experts. There was also a proposal of law fighting against LGBT propaganda.
For instance, the Ministry of Culture proposed a bill to replace the public broadcasting service with a new body that could put television under government control. There is legitimate concern that the new broadcasting body could serve as a mouthpiece for government propaganda. There were also signs that the government was pulling the strings in the private-sector media, which culminated in the firing of a prominent political debate moderator from private television.
Towards the end of 2024, Fico displayed a willingness to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, while criticising Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy for stopping the transport of Russian gas through Ukraine. After that, a delegation of coalition members flew to Moscow to meet Russian foreign minister Lavrov. This was followed by statements indicating a potential withdrawal from the EU, which would be a disaster for a small, open economy like Slovakia. It is unclear if these statements are sincere, or merely dog whistles to placate far-right voters. Regardless, they sparked rallies all over the country.
Since the assassination attempt on Robert Fico, there has been an atmosphere of paranoia, increases in attacks on the political opposition and the polarisation of society. The government, along with the intelligence agency, recently made up a story about a possible coup d’état attempt, with the intention of spreading fear amongst the electorate. They refer to resistance against the coalition as an attack on Slovakia, one of many signs of authoritarian tendencies. It is imperative for fellow libertarians from abroad to take a closer look at political conditions in my country. Recent events instill legitimate fear that Slovakia might take a turn in the direction of Belarus or Russia. Changes in the direction of foreign policy, authoritarian tendencies and a bad economic policy can significantly affect the future of Slovakia. The most pitiful fact is that young, capable people, who could change the situation, are fleeing the country to ensure a better future for themselves, fuelling a vicious cycle that could turn out very badly. Even political commentators are not sure how to read the situations and what to expect. Our political opposition is not very capable, so I’m not sure if there is reason for hope or for fear. We will see in the future how it all turns out.
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