Tens of thousands of people throughout Slovakia are demonstrating against the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, defying his warnings that provocateurs linked to the liberal opposition would use the protests to bring about a coup.
Rallies are being held in some 25 Slovak towns and cities, marking the latest in a series of protests against Fico’s populist-nationalist coalition. Protesters are expressing their anger at what they perceive as Fico’s undermining of the country’s institutions, culture, and position in the EU and NATO. They are particularly concerned about his increasing attacks on Ukraine and rapprochement with Moscow.
Fico has stated that he is pursuing a “sovereign” Slovak foreign policy aimed at “all four cardinal points of the compass.” He denies opposition claims that he wants to take Slovakia out of the EU and NATO, asserting that the country’s membership in both institutions is not in question.
Estimates suggest that around 100,000 people across Slovakia attended the protests, with at least 40,000 in the capital alone. Approximately 10,000 people took to the streets of Banska Bystrica, a city of 75,000. On Thursday, 15,000 demonstrated in Slovakia’s second city, Kosice, to avoid a clash with a separate event being held there in the evening.
Contrary to Fico’s warnings that provocateurs would encourage demonstrators to attack public buildings, causing a police reaction leading to bigger protests, there were no reports of violence or disorder.
Earlier on Friday, Fico told reporters that police would shortly begin deporting several foreign “instructors” he claimed were in Slovakia to help the opposition try to topple his government. On Wednesday, he called a meeting of the government’s security council, stating that the intelligence services had concrete proof that a group of foreign provocateurs involved in recent protests in Georgia and in 2014 in Ukraine were active in Slovakia.
Slovakia’s domestic intelligence service, the SIS, has confirmed the claims but has provided few details. The opposition has little faith in the SIS, as it is run by the son of an MP in Fico’s Smer party.
Fico also claimed that a “large-scale” cyber attack that hit the country’s health insurer on Friday was a textbook model “of how to liquidate a disobedient government which has unorthodox views on certain things” – a reference to his opposition to arming Ukraine and his efforts to mend relations with Moscow. He alleged that such activities were being carried out “by representatives of the opposition, NGOs organized from abroad, foreign instructors, and the media.”
However, it was later reported that the incident was actually a phishing attempt, not a cyber attack, and not particularly large in scale.
Slovak officials have previously claimed that a cyber attack against the country’s land registry could have come from Ukraine, an accusation that Kyiv has flatly denied. The ongoing protests and government responses highlight the deep divisions within Slovakia and the broader geopolitical tensions affecting the region.
As the situation continues to unfold, the protests serve as a powerful reminder of the public’s dissatisfaction with the current government and their desire for change. The outcome of these demonstrations could have significant implications for Slovakia’s political landscape and its relationships with the EU, NATO, and neighboring countries.
