A bid by the Europhile opposition to oust the sovereigntist government in Slovakia on Tuesday, January 28th, spectacularly failed as they could not gather enough MPs to form a majority.
The extraordinary meeting of the parliament was called by the liberal and centre-right opposition parties to try to force a vote of confidence against the left-wing nationalist government.
The government parties refused to attend the session on Tuesday, while only 66 opposition MPs turned up, ten MPs short of gaining a majority in the 150-seat parliament. The opposition will try again on Wednesday, but their efforts are likely to fail once more.
The opposition has been trying to oust Robert Fico’s government, ever since it came back into power in October 2023.
Together with the Brussels liberal elites, they are unhappy about the direction the cabinet has taken: a sovereigntist foreign policy critical of EU dictates, a more balanced approach to the relationship with Russia, a tough anti-immigration stance, and the rejection of woke ideologies and LGBT propaganda espoused by liberals in Western Europe.
Fico’s trip to Moscow in December to secure a gas deal was met with outrage by opposition parties, who falsely accused him of wanting to steer Slovakia towards Russia, and to exit the European Union.
The prime minister rejected the accusations, saying that his foreign policy was still determined by EU and NATO membership but his government seeks to have good ties with all sides and has the right to remain critical of the EU.
Fico has criticised EU sanctions on Russia, refuses to send military aid to Ukraine, and has harshly condemned the Kyiv government for cutting off Russian gas supplies to Slovakia via Ukraine.
The opposition organised a protest last Friday, with tens of thousands of participants, calling for Fico’s resignation. They are trying to capitalise on the fact that internal disputes within the two junior partners of Fico’s three-party coalition have weakened the government, and may not command a majority by the time crucial votes are to take place in parliament in February.
In an interview on Saturday, the prime minister refused to quit and accused the opposition of wanting to stage a coup d’état against the government.
Citing information from the national security service, he said the opposition was “preparing to occupy government buildings, prevent the execution of government power, and cooperate with foreign actors.” He claimed there was a group of unidentified experts in Slovakia that had helped in protests against the then-pro-Russian leader of Ukraine in 2014, and against the sovereigntist government of Georgia last year.
Opinion polls do not suggest that there is huge dissatisfaction with the government. Fico’s left-wing nationalist Smer party is polling at 22%, one point less than the result it got in 2023, while the main opposition liberal Progressive Slovakia party is at 23%. In third place is Smer’s junior partner, Hlas with 11%, while parliament outsider Republika—a potential Fico ally—is on 8%. All the other parties are hovering between 4-7%.
