Robert Fico’s recent trip to Moscow is backfiring in the very theater it was supposed to score him points — back home.
The Russia-friendly Slovak leader is facing the most serious threat to his rule since returning to office last October, with the entire opposition joining forces on Wednesday to propose a no-confidence vote in his government.
Crucially, the PM’s Dec. 22 Moscow visit has also turned some of his own allies against him, with four coalition MPs from the social-democratic Hlas (Voice) party having distanced themselves from the trip, blocked some coalition proposals and announced a visit to Kyiv.
“Fico’s trip to Moscow was a disgrace for Slovakia,” Fico’s biggest political rival, Progressive Slovakia party leader Michal Šimečka, said in an interview with POLITICO. “But it’s part of a bigger story about a prime minister who doesn’t seem … interested in dealing with real problems that trouble people in Slovakia. Instead, he’s flying around the world meeting dictators.”
Šimečka said the entire opposition wants Slovakia firmly anchored in the EU and NATO, and that the meeting between Fico and Putin had finally convinced them to act.
“Slovakia is not just Robert Fico,” he added. “There is an enormous number of people who wish Slovakia to be a part of free and democratic Europe, to have good relations with our neighbors, to constructively promote our interests and work to strengthen Europe as a whole, because that’s also good for Slovakia.”
The no-confidence vote, if it succeeds, will trigger a snap election. According to a recent January poll, the liberal opposition Progressive Slovakia is the most popular party in the country on 23.9 percent support, with Fico’s ruling Smer in second on 18 percent.
Fico himself signaled that a snap election might be an option if his coalition partners — Hlas and the hard-right Slovak National Party — fail to resolve their differences in the country’s parliament. The coalition has a razor-thin majority of 76 out of 150 seats, against 71 for the opposition and three independents.
“No matter how it turns out, I am convinced that in the situation where the government has only a fragile majority and when there is instability and chaos, snap elections are the best solution,” Šimečka said.
While the no-confidence vote must take place within a week, no date has yet been set.
Fico arranged to meet with Putin as a last-ditch move to secure cheap Russian gas for Slovakia after Ukraine ended a transit deal with Gazprom. His visit to Moscow dismayed not only the Slovak opposition but also the country’s European allies, who have painstakingly assembled 15 separate sanctions packages over the past three years to punish Moscow for its unprovoked war on Ukraine.Fico’s office did not reply to POLITICO’s request for comment.
The post Fico’s rival pushes snap election as Slovak PM’s Moscow trip backfires appeared first on Politico.
