Who might sit in Fico's fourth cabinet

Smer chair Robert Fico wants to replace the interim government as soon as possible so that he could attend the upcoming EU summit, which takes place in late October in Brussels.

Fico, whom the president is expected to appoint the next Slovak premier at some point this month, announced his plan after he signed a declaration with two other parties, Hlas and the ultranationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), on Wednesday.

The three parties agreed on signing a coalition deal in the days to come, a document that should define the priorities of Fico’s fourth government in the next four years. The agreement mentions that the post of prime minister belongs to Smer, the post of speaker of parliament to Hlas, and that a new ministry will be established from January 2024.

Also, Smer will have six ministers, Hlas will have seven, and the SNS party should be responsible for three ministries, including the new one. The ministry is said to be responsible for tourism and sports.

Fico attacks LGBT+ people

In the declaration, the parties guaranteed that Slovakia’s foreign policy would formally remain unchanged, but that they would also respect Slovakia’s sovereignty and national interests. Fico, a leader with pro-Russian views and a critic of the EU when it comes to refugees or unanimous voting, wants to control the foreign ministry.

The parties want to reform the criminal system and the human rights protection mechanism as well.

Fico dedicated some of his time to the LGBT+ community, attacking transgender people in particular. He started with a story about a school girl's dream in which she changes from a girl to a boy and back, and then she is asked to write an essay about her dream in school.

“I say clearly that we reject these gender ideologies, these gender adventures and want the return of common sense, traditions, a return to what's normal, what's natural, while fully respecting the diversity of Slovak life,” Fico said.