Despite repeated scandals, Robert Fico’s ability to reinvent himself has kept him at the top of Slovak politics.
Surgeons are now fighting to save his life after an assassination attempt after a government meeting in a small town.
His most recent fall from grace was in 2018, when he was forced to resign following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiance, leading to mass protests.
Turning to then-president Andrej Kiska, one of his many political opponents, he vowed to return to politics.
- author, rob cameron
- role, BBC Prague correspondent
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“I’m not going anywhere. Don’t worry,” he said.
Initially stunned by his sudden fall from grace and soon succeeded as prime minister by party protégé Peter Pellegrini, Fico appeared to be heading into the political wilderness.
After the left-wing Smer party suffered a humiliating electoral defeat, Pellegrini abandoned him and formed a new centre-left party, Fras.
But the coronavirus crisis has created new opportunities for Robert Fico. He began appearing at large demonstrations against the centre-right government’s restrictions to combat the pandemic.
Those demonstrations became increasingly unruly and ugly. Fico was at the front of the group, holding a megaphone and stirring up angry crowds, at one point leading to his arrest.
As the coronavirus faded from the headlines, he found a new culprit: Ukraine.
The September 2023 elections were won in part on a promise not to send “one more round of ammunition” to Kiev, and the Slovak government’s policy of arming Ukraine with artillery shells, heavy weapons and even fighter jets promised to withdraw it.
After winning the election and forming a coalition with Peter Pellegrini, the man who had betrayed him, and the ultra-nationalist Slovak People’s Party, he further strengthened his policies.
In February, as the world marked the second anniversary of the civil war, Fico reiterated his opposition to Western countries’ policy of arming Kiev.
He said there was no military solution to the conflict and sending weapons to Ukraine would only fill more graves in the country’s cemeteries.
He said Russia would never relinquish Crimea or parts of the eastern region of Donbas it occupied, and instead Kiev should lay down its arms and appeal for peace.
Fico said President Vladimir Putin had been “unfairly demonized” by the West.
In the six months since he took office, he and his coalition allies have launched harsh attacks on Slovakia’s institutions.
Reforms to the criminal justice system included the abolition of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which was established 20 years ago to investigate serious crimes and corruption.
The department oversaw Kuciak’s murder, but now, six years later, a conviction seems more remote than ever.
National broadcaster RTVS is set to close in June and be replaced by a new organization with a new director.
Fico said the RTVS cannot be objective because it is in perpetual conflict with the government, and that this “unsustainable” situation can only be remedied by replacing the RTVS.
Observers including opposition parties, the European Commission and the European Broadcasting Union have warned that the move will be a blow to press freedom in Slovakia.
Congress began debating the proposal in earnest Wednesday morning when news of the shooting broke. Demonstrations against the proposal were quickly halted.
Media reports said the gunman was a 71-year-old man from southern Slovakia, but it has not been confirmed that there was a motive behind the move to shut down the RTVS. Meanwhile, Hungarian investigative journalists said the man had previous ties to pro-Russian militias.
The man’s identity has been widely reported by Slovak media, but his motive remains unclear.
But if Mr. Fico, a 59-year-old political veteran, pulls through, he will draw new strength from this lifelong endeavor.
His closest political allies are already placing the blame squarely on the liberal opposition and the media, amid calls for calm and an end to the hateful rhetoric.
Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Danko, one of the coalition’s allies, said the country was headed for a “political war.”
The political temperature in Slovakia has steadily risen since he formed his fourth government in October.
However, this shooting incident has thrust the country into completely uncharted territory.
