Robert Fico (source: SITA)
Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. Prime Minister Fico mentions a secret service report into the attempt on his life five months ago, only to then deny that he had ordered such a report. The government approves next year’s state budget. Fico will meet Orbán on Tuesday.
If you have a suggestion on how to make this overview better, let me know at michaela.terenzani@spectator.sk.
Who will tell the story of the Handlová shooting?
“I do not want to say anything in advance when it comes to the assassination attempt, but it seems [that we will see] terrible things. Terrible things,” Prime Minister Robert Fico told state broadcaster Slovak Radio a month ago.
More than five months have passed since a septuagenarian, Juraj Cintula, opened fire at Robert Fico as the prime minister approached a small group of well-wishers in the main square of the central-Slovak town of Handlová. Fico sustained what were reported to be life-threatening injuries, but made a swift recovery that allowed him to resume his duties over the summer. From his very first public appearance, just before the European Parliamentary election in June, he set out to make sure that he would be the one telling the story of the events on May 15.
His story goes something like this: Cintula has been forgiven, as he was just the tool of some sinister forces that will stop at nothing to prevent Fico from being prime minister because he is outspoken in his “different opinions”; these nefarious forces operate in Slovakia through the opposition and the critical media.
Such a story has the potential to be turned into a powerful tool against anyone who dares to criticise Fico, his government and its policies. The fact that the General Prosecutor’s Office imposed an embargo on information from the investigation is not helping. What we know about the probe so far comes mostly from court decisions – particularly the periodic rulings required to keep Cintula in pretrial custody.
An investigation into an attempt on the life of the prime minister is naturally a test for the integrity of the Slovak police, prosecution service, and the courts. It is therefore concerning that five months after the shooting, even some of the circumstances directly connected to the assassination attempt have still not been properly investigated – this mainly applies to the investigation of potential errors committed by Fico’s personal security detail at the scene. The police inspectorate, which operates under the Interior Ministry, is dealing with this case. So far, four police officials have been dismissed for failings in connection with the case, specifically their reported failure to hold training sessions last year. No bodyguard or officer directly responsible for the prime minister’s security on May 15 has been dismissed.
Though unprecedented and politically explosive, the circumstances of the attack itself appear to be pretty straightforward: there is video footage and images showing the situation, and the perpetrator was detained on the spot and almost immediately confessed to having shot at Fico – though he insists he “only” wanted to incapacitate him in order to prevent him from serving as prime minister.
Some missteps have occurred during the process. Perhaps the most serious was the leaking, just after the shooting, of a video of the suspect in which he appears to be answering questions from an investigator or some other security officer about his actions – but clearly not in the context of an official interview; instead, he is pictured in what appears to be the corridor of a police station, being recorded on a mobile phone. This incident is, one assumes, also being dealt with by the police inspectorate.
The most detailed insight into the investigation so far has been provided by the Supreme Court, which ruled on September 18 that Cintula could remain in pretrial custody. The written ruling does not mention any potential accomplices or ties to the opposition – despite this being something that Fico presents, in almost every comment he makes on the matter, as a settled fact. It also does not fully support the charges of terrorism that have been laid against Cintula. While originally the shooter was charged with attempted premeditated murder, in July the General Prosecutor’s Office said without further explanation that the deed has been reclassified as terrorism.
The court, however, said that this has yet to be proven. It also insisted that investigators must gather more evidence, and also check on Cintula’s defence – in part, through a reconstruction of the crime.
Fico, who as the injured party has access to the investigation, meanwhile complains that the opposition is acting as if nothing happened, and continues to accuse the independent media, which has been critical of his government’s policies and actions but has reported neutrally on the shooting, of “spreading hatred”. The opposition, on the other hand, worries that the government may try and use the investigation against them. A former national police chief, Štefan Hamran, who is no longer a serving officer and has been cooperating with the non-parliamentary Democrats party, told the Sme daily recently that he had been questioned by a police investigator about alleged links to the shooting – an allegation he described as “absolutely absurd”.
Concerns about the direction of the case have become even more pronounced since Fico mentioned that the SIS intelligence agency is “working on it”. Later he explained that he expects the SIS “or someone else” to deliver a report on the assassination, but when pressed further he insisted that he had not ordered any such report from the SIS. Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) later confirmed that the SIS was working on a report about the assassination attempt, before clarifying that the agency was due to submit a report about the potential threat of another assassination attempt to parliament by the year’s end.
The SIS has denied that Fico asked it to provide him with intelligence about the assassination attempt and stated that it is closely cooperating with criminal prosecution bodies on the matter. SIS head Pavol Gašpar, whom Fico nominated for the post just a few months ago but who has already had a series of conflict-of-interest issues (he the son of Smer MP Tibor Gašpar, a former national police chief who is facing corruption charges), also stressed that the SIS does not give information to Fico about the case due to a conflict of interest.
The concerns voiced by opposition politicians are not unfounded. In its short, just over 30-year-long history, the SIS has been repeatedly abused for political ends and has been linked to crimes including the abduction of the son of the then president and the murder of a key witness in that case. Now, as Slovakia waits to hear the results of the Handlová shooting investigation and Robert Fico seeks to be the one to tell a version of the story that suits his interests, it matters more than ever what kind of “terrible things” the SIS may come up with.
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Important news from Slovakia to take note of:
The government approved a budget on Tuesday, October 15, that projects revenues of €59.9 billion and expenditures of €66.5 billion, pending parliamentary approval. The public finance deficit is expected to decrease to 4.7 percent of GDP next year, 3.7 percent in 2026, and 3 percent by 2027. To achieve this gradual reduction, the Finance Ministry has indicated that additional consolidation measures amounting to 1.9 percent of GDP, or €2.8 billion, will need to be introduced by 2027. However, trade unions from the Confederation of Trade Unions have expressed their opposition to the proposed budget and are considering protests. Likewise, the largest employers’ organisations have also withheld their support. (TASR)
A company linked to the ruling Smer party has been trading Slovak umbilical cord blood abroad for years, opposition SaS MP Vladimíra Marcinková has alleged. In a blog post on October 14, Marcinková wrote that Slovakia has not established a public bank for umbilical cord blood donations, something that would serve the public interest and is mandated by the European Commission. Despite warnings from the Health Ministry’s ethics commission in 2011, no action has been taken by the government.
Peter Kažimír, the governor of the National Bank of Slovakia and a former finance minister for the Smer party, refused to comment on the financial matters of his partner, Katarína Korecká, who co-owns a villa on the French Riviera. "I have no reason to comment on the financial situation of the family of my children's mother, to anyone, and especially not to journalists," Kažimír stated in a video in which he reads from a teleprompter. He has dismissed as "propaganda" a report by the Denník N daily about the villa. Kažimír, who is being prosecuted for corruption and whom a judge has already found guilty of accepting a bribe, also denied owning any foreign property. He did not explain why a company linked to his partner had reportedly received €1.5 million from a Cypriot firm. (Denník N)
On Monday evening, Facebook blocked the page “All4Ukraine – Help for Ukraine”, citing a violation of its policies by impersonating another identity. The Facebook profile was restored approximately 24 hours after it was blocked. The specifics behind the social media platform’s decision regarding the profile, which is managed by the nonprofit organisation All4Ukraine, remain unclear. (Sme)
A legal dispute between businessman Ivan Kmotrík and the state over the National Football Stadium has resumed after two years, following an inconclusive ruling by the European Court of Justice. The court's neutral responses mean that the key decisions will remain with national courts, and the state remains at risk of a €120-million loss. Kmotrík, who had hoped for a favourable outcome, is also facing increased liabilities due to rising costs and state claims for repayment of a €27.2-million subsidy. Despite the ongoing legal battle, discussions about a possible settlement have stalled under both previous and current governments. (Sme)
The General Prosecutor's Office has halted the prosecution of critics – including experts, journalists, and activists – of the pro-Russian AllatRa movement from Ukraine, which is also known in Slovakia as the Creative Society. It was recently reported that a senior prosecutor directly involved in the case is a follower of the sect-like movement, and has been encouraging fellow prosecutors to watch its videos and other content.
When it comes to cross-border commuting in Europe, Slovaks rank among the clear leaders. Last year, more than 116,000 Slovak citizens worked cross-border. These are people with permanent residence in Slovakia, but who generally travel to another country on a week-by-week basis to work. "Commuters make up almost five percent of all employed people in Slovakia, one of the highest figures in the European Union," the Institute of Financial Policy (IFP), part of the Finance Ministry, reported.
Expected this week
Parliament’s October session starts on Tuesday, with MPs expected to discuss the state budget.
The prime ministers of Slovakia and Hungary, and the president of Serbia, will meet in the town of Komárno on the Slovak-Hungarian border on Tuesday.
Stories that deserve your attention:
OPINION: The editor-in-chief of the Sme daily, Beata Balogová, citing Ukrainian journalist Anzhela Slobodian's experience of Russian captivity, comments on the pro-Russian views of Slovak politicians like Ľuboš Blaha and Robert Fico, who ignore the harsh realities of Putin’s regime and label its critics "Russophobes".
SLOVAK MATTERS: The social aspect of being sick has changed since the pandemic, but the language is the same.
RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA: Russia-friendly MEP Ľuboš Blaha, the deputy leader of Slovakia’s Smer party, embarked on a visit to Moscow last Saturday, prompting extensive coverage in Russian state media eager to document the unusual presence of a Western politician.
