With populist and Eurosceptic rhetoric, the return to power in October 2023 of Robert Fico (59 years old) – who was the victim of an assassination attempt this Wednesday – set off all the alarms in Brussels. The leader of the social democratic party Smer had campaigned defending an end to military aid to Ukraine and the veto of its entry into the EU and NATO, reproducing the Kremlin’s arguments to justify its war of aggression.
In a matter of weeks, Slovakia made a complete change in its policy towards kyiv. The previous center-right government had been one of the main supporters within the EU of the Government of Volodymyr Zelensky, to which it yielded its fleet of Mig-29 fighters and S-300 missile defense systems, both of Soviet technology.
After taking office as prime minister, Fico stopped sending military aid to Ukraine in its tracks and aligned itself with the pro-Russian positions that until then was defended alone by the Hungarian Viktor Orbán, the only ally in the EU of Vladimir Putin. The entente between Fico and Orbán took place during a bilateral meeting in Budapest in January of this year, in which the two leaders conspired to block the 50 billion European financial aid package for kyiv.
[El atentado contra el prorruso Fico convulsiona el Este de Europa en pleno avance de Putin en Ucrania]
However, when push comes to shove, Fico has always remained in the background in discussions within the EU on Ukraine and has never joined Orbán’s vetoes. Although it also shares anti-immigration rhetoric with Hungary, Slovakia decided to abstain in the vote on the European Asylum Pact held last Tuesday, while Orbán opted for ‘no’.
Robert Fico is an old acquaintance in Brussels because he was already Prime Minister of Slovakia between 2006 and 2010. In 2012 he obtained a second term, but was forced to resign in 2018 as a result of the political crisis triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend. Kuciak was investigating corruption scandals in Fico’s party and his possible ties to the Italian mafia.
The Slovak Robert Fico talks with the Hungarian Viktor Orbán during the last European Council in March
During his time in the opposition, Fico became radicalized and moved further to the right. Since his return to power in 2023, his government has embarked on an authoritarian drift that worries Brussels. The first step was the express reform of the Penal Code and the dissolution of the Special Prosecutor’s Office that deals with cases of corruption and serious crimes. A maneuver that according to Brussels undermines the EU’s fight against fraud.
In January 2024, the plenary session of the European Parliament approved – by a large majority of 496 votes in favor, 70 against and 64 abstentions – a very critical resolution on Slovakia in which He also questioned the new legislation on NGOsconsidering that its objective is to stigmatize organizations that receive foreign funding.
[Asesinatos, corrupción y mafia: la turbulenta vida de Robert Fico, el ‘Trump eslovaco’ afín a Putin]
MEPs also expressed concern about the restructuring of Slovakia’s public broadcaster, claiming that its ultimate goal is to bring it under political control. And they accused Fico himself of using polarizing and divisive language.
The assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of Slovakia has caused a deep shock throughout the European Union. Community leaders have rushed to condemn the attack against one of their ownwhich they have not hesitated to describe as an attack against democracy itself.
“These acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” wrote the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the first to react.
“I am shocked by the news of the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister. Nothing can ever justify violence or such attacks,” denounced the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.
“I have stayed deeply shocked by the heinous attack on my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and speedy recovery! God bless him and his country! “Víktor Orbán wrote on his social network account X.
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