Erik Kaliňák, then a Smer party MP, is pictured on a billboard before the 2024 European Parliament elections. He is now an MEP. (source: Jozef Jakubčo)
Robert Fico rarely addresses young people. He offers them neither positive messages nor visions of how he envisions their future.
In recent months, when he has directed his attention to students or young people, it has been to ridicule them, scold them, and propose disciplinary methods from the last century: physical violence, or "slaps", as he likes to call it.
Even when Fico appears to be sending a message to students, he is actually speaking to his own (much older) voter base. They want to see and hear a tough Fico who bangs on the table when necessary and confidently shows everyone their place.
