Fico: Neutrality Would Suit Slovakia, Threatens Snap Elections in January

Slovak Prime Minister and leader of the Smer party Robert Fico said on Sunday, in an interview on the TA3 television channel, that military neutrality would suit Slovakia better, and voiced doubt that NATO allies would actually come to the country's aid in the event of an attack. At the same time, the prime minister threatened his coalition partners with the possibility of early parliamentary elections as soon as January next year.

Doubts About NATO Allies' Solidarity

"I don't believe in this solidarity. Why should French soldiers die for Slovaks?" Fico said, once again repeating his view that some European countries are preparing for a conflict with Russia. The statement came amid rising tensions and a series of warnings about possible Russian hybrid operations against European countries supporting Ukraine.

At the same time, Fico stressed that Bratislava would honor Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense, but refused to send Slovak troops into a "provoked war with Russia." Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and, according to European intelligence services, is waging a hybrid war against EU and NATO countries — including an artificially triggered migration crisis on the EU's eastern border, sabotage, arson and drone operations.

This is not the first time Fico has spoken about neutrality: back in June of last year, he said that amid rising defense spending, neutrality "would suit Slovakia very well." President Peter Pellegrini disagreed with him at the time, stressing that the country would not undermine NATO unity. The prime minister returned to the subject a few days after a dispute over his remarks on Article 5, for which he was criticized, among others, by Czech President Petr Pavel. On Sunday, Fico justified his position further by saying that since EU countries cannot even agree on electricity prices, he does not believe in their solidarity in the event of a military attack either.

Threat of Snap Elections in January

Because of ongoing disputes within the fractured ruling coalition, Fico has repeatedly suggested that Slovakia could face early parliamentary elections next January, even though the next regular elections are not due until autumn 2027. "If you want to destroy everything, go ahead and destroy it. I'm ready for January," the prime minister said, addressing above all the chairman of the Slovak National Party, Andrej Danko, and the environment minister, Tomáš Taraba.

"If Mr. Danko and Mr. Taraba don't come to their senses, early elections may be held in January," Fico added, noting that he was also prepared for the possibility that his party would end up in opposition after the vote. According to the prime minister, January is the last point at which early elections would still make any sense. Interior Minister and chairman of the coalition Hlas party, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, spoke out against shortening parliament's term.

Conflict Around Minister Taraba

Fico called his current coalition the most difficult of his time in power. After the 2023 elections, Smer formed a cabinet together with Hlas and the SNS, but the coalition has long suffered from rebellions and departing lawmakers — a problem Fico had previously solved by appointing rebels to political posts (which is how, for example, the sports ministry headed by Rudolf Huliak came about).

Now a long-running conflict between Andrej Danko and Tomáš Taraba has come to the fore. Taraba joined the government as an SNS nominee but is not a member of Danko's party, and relations between the two have deteriorated to the point that the SNS demanded this year that Fico dismiss the minister — the prime minister even sent a proposal to dismiss Taraba to President Pellegrini. However, Taraba's departure from the government could create a new problem: he would return to parliament, and it is unclear whether he would continue to reliably support the government majority, which already risks becoming too thin.

So on Sunday Fico redirected the pressure onto Danko and Taraba themselves: "Forget about me settling your disputes for you, you're grown men," he said, demanding guarantees from them that the parliamentary majority would be preserved, and announced that he would withdraw the proposal to dismiss Taraba. Danko himself called Fico's Sunday statements "lies and demagoguery" and accused the prime minister of "destroying his coalition partners."

The Far Right and the Dispute With the Prosecutor General

Discussing possible early elections, Fico did not rule out cooperation with the far-right movement Republika, which emerged after some politicians left the ĽSNS party of convicted extremist Marian Kotleba — the same party that once pushed for a referendum on Slovakia leaving NATO. The two parties compete for similar voters, and their relations have remained tense in recent months: as recently as September, Republika leader Milan Uhrík said his movement did not trust Smer and would not become its "servant."

The prime minister also once again criticized Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka, whom he has previously called on to resign, describing him as close to the current opposition. Their conflict is linked, among other things, to the prosecutor's criticism of changes to criminal legislation. Žilinka has called Fico's statements political pressure and has refused to resign.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz