Protests in Slovakia against the government of Robert Ficy. They don't want to be a “pro -Russian outsider”

Anti -government demonstrations began in December last year and were a response to the meeting of Prime Minister Robert Ficy with the president Russia. The visit of the head of the Slovak government in the Kremlin raised fears of part of the public and the opposition. Fico refused to answer the questions how he got to Russia and what he agreed with Vladimir Putin. Shortly afterwards, in January this year, a delegation of Slovak deputies representing the ruling coalition – including the deputy head of the Tibor Gašpar parliament, who in an interview after returning from Russia said that the need to leave the “open door” for the idea of ​​leaving also went to Moscow. NATO and the European Union.

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– Prime Minister Robert Fico has long claimed that he conducts a policy “to four parts of the world”. In fact, he does it only one way, east, towards Moscow – says Lucia Plaváková, MP of the Progressive party Slovakiathe largest opposition group – Slovakia becomes a pro -Russian outsider under Ficy, which is bad not only for our international relations, but also for the citizens of the country – adds the politician.

On anti -government demonstrations appear slogans accusing the Slovak prime minister of treason, calling for resignation and in favor of a pro -western course of the country. The Prime Minister, in turn, accuses the organizers of the manifestation attempt to overthrow the government and activities for foreign countries. Robert Fico at the same time points out that “he does not understand” the reasons why Slovaks go out into the street and assures that he is not going to lead the country from the European Union or NATO.

The parliamentarian from another opposition club, in turn, assesses that “the direction of Slovak foreign policy is disturbing.” – For some time we can see that Slovakia is becoming an unbelievable partner for our allies in the Union – says Vladimíra Marcinková from the Liberal Party of Freedom and Solidarity.

At the end of January, Robert Fico was asked if he would give up his position due to subsequent waves of protests. In a television interview, he said that the change of government can be made by voting in elections, not on the street during the demonstration. According to the premiere, the protesters want to lead to clashes with the services, and thus the fall of the government coalition under the influence of the pressure of public opinion. According to Ficy, one third of the demonstrators is to come from Ukrainealthough the Slovak prime minister did not provide any evidence to confirm this thesis.

Robert Fico also announced the desire to enter in the constitution that there are only two sexes. However, the parliamentary coalition does not have a stable majority today, which forces Fica to negotiate with MPs who have stopped supporting the government or were thrown out of the coalition due to the reasons for the disputes. There are seven from the beginning of the term. One of such parliamentarians is Samuel Miga. Until January this year, he was a member of the Hlas coalition party (Polish voice), but he was removed from it after disputes inside the group. Flashing did not hide that he did not agree with the pro -Russian government course, which co -creates his political formation. When asked about the idea of ​​entering a record about two sexes in the constitution, he replies that “the Prime Minister is trying to check how solid coalition and opposition are.” – I do not think that it was a problem that bothers Slovakia and requiring solving it – says the parliamentarian.

Lucia Plaváková from the progressive Slovakia also indicates an unstable majority, which as an example gives the situation from the end of January, when the rulers ran out of one vote to collect the quorum, and thus start the parliamentary meeting. – I think it says a lot about the state of the current coalition – comments the MP.

About 100,000 people took part in the weekend assemblies, according to the organizers' calculations. – It was a peaceful protest. The satirical slogans mocking the prime minister and ruling politicians dominated – says Filip Harzer, reporter of the Czech portal Zprávy in an interview with tvn24.pl, who reported a demonstration in Powaska Bystrzyca, in the west of Slovakia on Friday. This city is one of the “bastions” of the ruling Smeru, which has been noticing high election results here for years (during the EP elections in June 2024, the Ficy party won 32 percent support in this city, when it was 24 percent in the whole country. votes). The journalist estimates that several hundred people appeared in Powaska Bystrzyca. In this case, local activists were the organizers, not political parties.

The opposition and existing organizers announced further protests in two weeks, on the anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak. During mass demonstrations in the spring of 2018, Robert Fico resigned after the manifestoors blamed him with political responsibility for Kuciak's death. The most people came out to the streets of Slovak cities since the fall of communism. The attendance of the current demonstrations is similar to those from 2018, when over 60,000 manifested in Bratislava. Slovaks.