Who Is Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia?

Robert Fico, 59, has performed a pivotal position in Slovakian politics within the years because it received self rule in 1993 and has served as top minister longer than any alternative chief.

The rustic received self rule nearest the so-called Velvet Revolution, a layout of frequent and nonviolent protests in 1989 towards the Communist Birthday party in what used to be at that moment nonetheless Czechoslovakia.

Mr. Fico, who have been a Communist Birthday party member pace it used to be in energy, based the Smer celebration within the past due Nineties and started the primary of his 3 phrases as top minister in 2006, serving for 4 years ahead of going into opposition nearest his coalition misplaced an election. Slovakia is a landlocked nation of round 5 million public.

The Smer celebration, which began out at the political left however has an increasing number of embraced right-wing perspectives on immigration and cultural problems, has ruled as a part of a coalition. A lot of the world dialogue of Mr. Fico’s management lately has involved in his ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to Top Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Slovakia’s southern neighbor.

Mr. Fico returned to energy in 2012 however resigned as top minister in July 2018 following lump demonstrations over the homicide of a journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, who have been uncovering govt corruption. The protests, which rocked the rustic, have been the biggest open because the Velvet Revolution; demonstrators demanded the retirement of the federal government and untouched elections.

Slovakia ranks prime in free tests of press self-government, however the protesters had additionally sought deeper adjustments within the nation Mr. Fico had overseen.

He returned to energy in an election utmost fall, establishing a coalition govt nearest securing round 23 p.c of the vote, having campaigned towards sanctions that have been imposed on Russia nearest its full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022. No longer one spherical of the rustic’s ammunition will have to be despatched to Ukraine, he had advised electorate.

That stance, in a rustic the place pro-Russian sentiment had traditionally been important, anxious E.U. leaders in Brussels, who mentioned they feared that Slovakia may just method a pro-Russian alliance with Mr. Orban and, probably, Italy’s chief, Georgia Meloni, that might hinder aid for Ukraine within the Ecu Union. On the moment, it used to be additionally open as an indication of the obvious erosion of the pro-Ukrainian bloc that Europe had shaped nearest the invasion.

Slovakia’s army contributions to Ukraine have been slight when compared with nations reminiscent of the US and Britain. However utmost era it changed into one in every of a number of Ecu Union nations on Ukraine’s borders to cancel imports of its grain, fearing that it would undermine Slovakia’s farmers.

In April, an best friend of Mr. Fico, Peter Pellegrini, gained a vote to grow to be Slovakia’s president. The placement is in large part ceremonial, however analysts mentioned the victory reinforced the seize of political forces pleasant to Russia in Central Europe, for the reason that Mr. Pellegrini adverse offering army and fiscal backup to Ukraine.