OVERVIEW: Who is Robert Fico, Slovakia's controversial prime minister?15 May 2024 22:20
Euro-skeptic, pro-Putin, populist, pragmatic, and leftist nationalist are some of the labels frequently applied to the, for some, controversial Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. But what's behind the labels? Who is Slovakia's prime minister?
Fico began his political career with the Communist Party shortly before the 1989 Velvet Revolution. After the end of the communist regime and the break-up of Czechoslovakia into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic, he was appointed representative to the European Court of Human Rights, a position he held from 1994 to 2000. Fico, who previously joined the Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ), a successor of the Communist Party of Slovakia, was later elected its deputy chairman in 1998.
He eventually left the party in 1999 to become one of the founders of Social Democratic Leadership (SMER), which he described as a third-way group with himself as leader. In 2004, SMER merged with almost all left-wing parties active in Slovak politics, including its parent organization, SDĽ, becoming the most dominant political party in Slovakia.
SMER won victory in 2006, and Fico became prime minister in 2006, two years after Slovakia joined the EU. In 2009, he brought his country into the Eurozone but could not form a coalition the following year despite winning the election. He won again in 2012, after a center-right coalition collapsed over corruption allegations, and won again in 2016 but had to resign two years later amid mass protests over the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée. In October 2023, he returned for a third term as prime minister at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition.
Politically, Fico is considered a highly contentious figure known for his harsh criticism of journalists and his campaigns against immigration and LGBTQ+ rights. Moreover, his leadership has raised fears of a shift in Slovakia's stance towards the West, drawing comparisons to Hungary's Viktor Orban. In the past, Fico has rejected EU sanctions against Moscow, opposed Ukraine's bid for NATO membership, and advocated a compromise with Russia to end its conflict with Kiev. His policies and statements have triggered protests in Slovakia, especially over changes to the country's public media and EU migration policies.
Following today's assassination attempt, and still without knowing the outcome of the attack, many world leaders, including Biden and Putin, were shocked by the news. Shortly after the incident, Fico was rushed to a hospital in Handlova and then transported by helicopter to the city of Banska Bystrica for urgent treatment. Subsequent reports indicated that hours after entering the surgery room, he was still fighting for his life in critical condition.
Baha Breaking News (BBN) / JG
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