Slovak opposition reignites anti-government protests amid democratic concerns

Anti-government protests organised by Slovakia’s opposition parties, which have attracted tens of thousands of people in recent months, have resumed after a five-week break, citing the government’s constant attacks on Slovak democracy and the country’s reputation.

The Progressive Slovakia (PS) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) parties will stage another protest in Bratislava on Friday evening, saying Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government cannot get away with everything it has done.

“The government announced a frontal attack on RTVS,” PS leader Michal Šimečka said, referencing a controversial Slovakian reform that would tighten the state’s control over the nation’s public broadcaster.

“They have already seized the top Slovak intelligence agency and the police, abolished the Special Prosecutor’s Office, and [they] are threatening the Constitutional Court. They embarrass us abroad and threaten billions from European funds. Together, we will show them that democracy in Slovakia will defend itself,” he added.

The protests, which began in December 2023, were originally against the controversial reform of the penal code. The last protest took place on 7 February 2024.

When the reform was sent to the Constitutional Court for review in February at the request of the opposition and President Zuzana Čaputová, the political protests stopped. The demonstrators did not want to give the impression that they were putting pressure on the court.

However, citizens’ dissatisfaction has not diminished, as evidenced by the regularity of smaller protests organised by civic or non-governmental organisations in Slovak cities.

A major protest was held in Bratislava on Tuesday, with more than 5,000 people participating. The protest was organised by the civic initiative “Peace to Ukraine” in response to the government’s pro-Russian foreign policy.

“It’s necessary to say that we refuse to be collaborators with wartime Russia,” Peace to Ukraine spokesperson Rastislave Kalnovic said. “We refuse to be a partner of a totalitarian regime and a state that labels Slovakia and the entire democratic world as enemies.”

The fourth Fico government has become infamous for its pro-Russian stances. It has spread narratives used by pro-Kremlin actors and organised a meeting between Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

Since Fico took power in October 2023, the country has started facing isolation on the world stage. Slovakia is no longer invited to various closed forums within the EU and NATO, and even its closest neighbour – the Czech Republic – suspended intergovernmental cooperation.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)