Prime Minister Robert Fico ended his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the USA with a fervent salute: “Long live the USA, long live Slovakia.”
Founded in 1974 as a US conservative platform, CPAC has become a global hub for nationalist conservatives.
Fico, who cancelled a February 20 meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Bratislava due to the conference, took the stage to energetic pop music, following pro-Republican host Megyn Kelly, formerly of Fox News. Speaking in English without an interpreter, his strong Eastern European accent was unmistakable.
He opened with a tribute to Michael Strank, a US Marine of Slovak descent immortalised in the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising image. Fico honoured fallen American soldiers who helped defeat fascism, warning against the rise of “new Hitlers.”
Much of his speech echoed his domestic rhetoric – criticising ‘anti-government’ media and foreign-funded organisations while praising Donald Trump for holding a mirror to the EU.
