The leader of Progressive Slovakia party, Michal Šimečka, has openly criticized Prime Minister Robert Fico’s recent visit to Moscow, labelling it a ‘national embarrassment’ for Slovakia in an exclusive interview with POLITICO. Šimečka expressed his concern over Fico’s apparent lack of engagement with the real issues affecting the Slovakian people and his preference to globe-trot, engaging with authoritarian leaders.
The opposition leader reiterated that the opposition’s unanimous desire is to see Slovakia firmly rooted within the EU and NATO. Fico’s meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has galvanized the opposition, convincing them to take decisive action.
“Slovakia is much more than just Robert Fico,” Šimečka emphasized, adding that a significant number of Slovakians want their country to be a part of a democratic Europe, maintaining good relations with neighboring countries, promoting national interests constructively, and contributing towards bolstering the strength of Europe as a whole, for Slovakia’s benefit.
The opposition’s popularity is on the rise, with the Progressive Slovakia party leading the polls with 23.9 percent support, a significant lead over Fico’s ruling Smer party, trailing at second with an 18 percent approval rate. Notably, if the impending no-confidence vote proves successful, it will pave the way for a snap election.
Fico has hinted at the possibility of a snap election if his coalition partners, Hlas and the hard-right Slovak National Party, fail to reconcile their differences in the country’s parliament. The coalition currently holds a slim majority, with 76 out of 150 seats, against 71 for the opposition and three independents.
Šimečka believes that in the face of a fragile majority government and political instability, snap elections could be the best solution. The no-confidence vote is set to take place within the week, although an official date is yet to be confirmed.
Fico’s meeting with Putin was reportedly a desperate bid to secure affordable Russian gas for Slovakia, following Ukraine’s termination of a transit deal with Gazprom. This move not only caused dismay within the Slovak opposition but also amongst the country’s European allies, who have been working diligently to enforce 15 separate sanctions packages over the past three years in response to Moscow’s unprovoked war on Ukraine.
POLITICO’s request for a comment from Fico’s office remains unanswered.
