Prime Minister Robert Fico and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during their meeting in Rome on Tuesday, 3 June 2025. (source: TASR/ANSA)
In a familiar Sunday ritual, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) once again cast himself as a voice of dissent in a Europe he claims has lost its way.
Speaking at his regular weekly press conference – held ahead of the Sunday political talk shows he disdains – Fico claimed that he and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán are far from isolated in their criticism of the European Union’s approach to the war in Ukraine.
“With a certain degree of satisfaction, I want to state that my voice and Orbán’s voice are not as rare as some might think,” he told reporters.
Fico, who returned to power in late 2023 and halted Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine while allowing commercial arms deals to continue, said media portrayals of his position as marginal were misleading. To support his claim, he pointed to a recent manifesto signed by 150 prominent politicians from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), which he said called for diplomacy to replace confrontation.
“They say that peace should be prioritised over war, diplomacy over confrontation,” Fico said. “Instead of insane armament, there should be a serious debate about what constitutes relevant protection.”
He said he had been shocked by recent rhetoric from Berlin. “I couldn’t believe it when German politicians said the country must prepare for war, that there aren’t enough bunkers,” he said, before asking: “Who exactly is preparing for what kind of war?”
Fico went on to accuse critics of smearing those advocating for peace. “As soon as these 150 politicians started advocating for diplomacy, they were labelled ‘Putin’s useful idiots’ and ‘Putin’s fifth column,’” he claimed.
