73-424: Robert Fico ( Slovak: [ˈrɔbert ˈfitsɔ] ; born 15 September 1964) is a Slovak politician who is currently serving as the prime minister of Slovakia since 2023. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. He founded the left-wing political party Direction – Social Democracy in 1999 and has led the party since. Fico holds a record as the longest-serving prime minister in
146-561: A snap election , as well as to "solve the political crisis" involving the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak . Kuciak also examined the work of the Italian mafia 'Ndrangheta in Slovakia. According to the police, Mária Trošková , who is an assistant to Fico, could have ties to 'Ndrangheta. In the immediate aftermath of the crime, Fico implied that he had taken personal control of the investigation while posing with €1m in cash. At
219-841: A Masaryk scholarship. In 2002, he completed his postgraduate study, earning him the title of associate professor . Fico joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1986, having applied in 1984. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and the collapse of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia , Fico joined the Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ), a successor of the Communist Party of Slovakia. He
292-486: A bill that requires all religious movements and organizations to have a minimum of 50,000 verified practicing members in order to become state-recognized, up from 20,000. After coming to power in 2006, Fico declared that Slovakia's relations with Russia would improve after eight years of "neglect". Fico referred to " Slavonic solidarity". which was a central theme of the Slovak National Awakening in
365-444: A coalition government with Vladimír Mečiar 's People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and Ján Slota 's Slovak National Party (SNS). SNS is a right-wing populist party which has been known for making anti-Roma and anti-Hungarian comments, including a drunken public speech by Ján Slota, in which he threatened to "get in tanks and level Budapest to the ground." A large part of Fico's election victory in 2006
438-439: A fixed-term employment contract three times over three years. The Labour Code was revised in 2014 when it introduced severe restrictions of the work on agreement performed outside regular employment. Under the latest revision, employers were able to conclude agreements with employees for 12 months only. One of the few modifications Fico's government implemented was a slight modification to the unusual flat tax system introduced by
511-569: A humanitarian way and would try to start peace talks. In January 2024 Fico said that "Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign country" and said the only way to end Russia's invasion is for Ukraine to give up some of its land to the invaders.Fico has been accused of spreading pro-Russian disinformation about the Ukrainian war, for example repeating Kremlin claims that the Donbas War began when "Ukrainian Nazis and fascists started murdering
584-535: A law making the Beneš decrees inviolable. This was in response to demands from ethnic Hungarian politicians that compensations should be made to persons affected by the decrees. In May 2008, Fico labelled Hungary a potential threat during a speech commemorating the 161st anniversary of the day that Slovaks demanded national equality with other nations within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Fico used
657-646: A new government. During the 2023 parliamentary election , Fico vowed to end military support for Slovakia's neighbor Ukraine , which was being invaded by Russia . His party Smer won 22.95% of the vote and 42 seats, becoming the largest party. Fico formed a coalition with Voice – Social Democracy (Hlas), a party founded in 2020 by Pellegrini and other dissidents of Fico's Smer, and with the Slovak National Party , and began his fourth term as prime minister on 25 October. Fico's government has stopped military aid to Ukraine, moved to take greater control of
730-528: A new organization, controlled by a government-appointed council. This was condemned as an attack on press freedom by President Zuzana Caputova , local journalists, the opposition, international media organizations, the European Commission and others, who warned that the changes would give the government full control of Slovak public television and radio. These proposed changes also led to mass protests. On 15 May 2024, around 14:30 (2:30 PM), Fico
803-407: A new political party on the left. These plans were driven by the falling popularity of the existing parties, and the rising popularity of Fico. Almost immediately after leaving SDĽ, the group founded Direction – Social Democracy (SMER), which Fico first labelled a party of the third way, with himself as leader. Fico established himself as an opposition politician criticizing the unpopular reforms of
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#1732791237887876-415: A party founded in 2020 by Pellegrini and other dissidents of Fico's Smer, and with the Slovak National Party . Fico's new cabinet was sworn in on 25 October 2023. Fico attended a two-day European Union (EU) summit that began the next day. In 2023, Fico referred to adoption by same-sex couples as a perversion, stated that he would never support same-sex marriage . He said that " gender ideology in schools
949-482: A piece which summarized his foreign policy in this way: Compensating for his lack of close political allies within the EU, the former Czech Social Democratic Party leader Jiří Paroubek being a notable exception, Fico sought to strengthen relations with several non-EU countries such as Serbia and Russia . This broke with a pro- NATO , Western-focused trend established after the 1998 Slovak election . Under his premiership,
1022-443: A political scandal broke out, and was described as one of the gravest in the country's 17-year history. A voice recording surfaced, with a voice strongly resembling that of Fico, in which he claimed to have raised several million euros in undeclared funds for the 2002 election, as well as calling for a "parallel financial structure" to be created for the financing of Smer's election campaign. Slovak media sources, such as Sme , carried
1095-482: A resolute opposition after his narrow loss. Following the fall of the centre-right coalition government that replaced his, Fico's Smer-SD returned to power being the first party since the breakup of Czechoslovakia to win an absolute majority of seats. Fico initially sought to form a national unity government with SDKU or KDH. When this failed, he formed the first one-party government in Slovakia since 1993. On 18 December 2013, Fico officially announced his candidacy for
1168-424: A result, Slovakia is being sued by several foreign shareholders of local health insurers through international arbitrations. In 2010, Fico faced large-scale protests and a blockade of major cities by truckers upset about what they considered to be badly implemented tolls on the highways. Truckers demanded that fuel prices be lowered to compensate for the tolls. Fico initially refused to speak with representatives of
1241-458: A sovereign state; one of Fico's three cabinets have recognised Kosovo and he continued to iterate his opposition towards recognition afterwards. Responding to the 2013 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine, Fico declared that the "EU is no religious obligation", and said the EU was "so in love with itself" that it is convinced there is no better alternative to it in the world. He subsequently condemned
1314-713: A strong state ), at the same time but his views gradually evolved. He is committed to the left and patriotism , on the basis of which he renamed the Smer party to the Slovak Social Democracy. Fico is critical of the Western model of the left, which he calls "the Brussels left". In response to the fact that the European Socialists suspended Smer's full membership and Hlas's associate membership of
1387-430: Is a construction entrepreneur, and his sister Lucia Chabadová, who is fourteen years younger, is a prosecutor. Fico grew up and lived with his family in the village of Hrušovany , until the age of six, when they moved to the nearby town of Topoľčany. Fico has described his childhood ambitions as wanting to become either a politician, a sports reporter, or an archaeologist. After completing elementary school, he enrolled in
1460-484: Is a member of the Slovak Matica , which he supports, and Slovak Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters. From a geopolitical point of view, he has been talking about "the politics of the four world directions" for a long time. Fico's government has moved to take greater control of the media. The public radio and television network RTVS was replaced by a new organization, controlled by a government-appointed council. There
1533-479: Is unacceptable". Fico's ruling coalition passed a law that shut down the Special Prosecutor's Office, which had dealt with serious corruption. Investigations by the office had led to many high-profile corruption cases and convictions, many of them involving Fico's MPs, party members and business partners. The changes also include a reduction in punishment for corruption. The ruling coalition fast-tracked
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#17327912378871606-552: The 2010 parliamentary election , Fico served as an opposition member of parliament, effectively holding the position of the leader of the opposition. Following a motion of no confidence against the Iveta Radičová cabinet, Fico was re-appointed prime minister after leading Smer to a landslide election victory in the 2012 parliamentary election , winning 83 seats and forming a government with an absolute majority in Parliament,
1679-576: The EU single market . In light of the election of Donald Trump , he commented that it might spur Europe to bolster its military. In August 2017, Fico said: "The fundamentals of my policy are being close to the (EU) core, close to France, to Germany. I am very much interested in regional cooperation within the Visegrád Four but Slovakia's vital interest is the EU. Fico rejected European Commission 's plan to distribute refugees and economic migrants from
1752-469: The European Commission in questions of immigration. Simultaneously, he continued to applaud and support his party's former presidential candidate and European Commissioner candidate Maroš Šefčovič . His campaign for premier used all of these planks. His party Smer won 22.95% of the vote and 42 seats, becoming the largest party. Fico formed a coalition with Voice – Social Democracy (Hlas),
1825-467: The Middle East and Africa among EU member states, saying: "As long as I am prime minister, mandatory quotas will not be implemented on Slovak territory." He stated that "thousands of terrorists and Islamic State fighters are entering Europe with migrants, and added: "We monitor every single Muslim in Slovakia." In May 2016, Fico stated that Slovakia would not accept "one single Muslim" migrant into
1898-555: The Party of European Socialists (PES), Fico said that he was proud of his party, Smer, and did not intend to change his views. Fico likes Alexander Dubček , Gustáv Husák , Milan Rastislav Štefánik , Ľudovít Štúr, Anton Bernolák , Vladimír Clementis , Ladislav Novomeský , Vladimír Mináč, and Christian personalities of Slovak history, starting with Cyril and Methodius and ending with Cardinal Korec . Among foreign politicians, he likes Willy Brandt . He has also been compared to right-wing European leaders such as Viktor Orbán . Fico
1971-586: The Russo-Ukrainian War . Responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Slovakia's neighbor, Fico opposed helping Ukraine to defend itself militarily. He also vowed to block Ukraine from joining NATO and argued that the accession of Ukraine to the EU by 2025 was unrealistic. Fico said that selling or sending Ukraine weapons and military equipment to defend itself has only encouraged more violence. In September 2023, he vowed that if his party won
2044-513: The Russo-Ukrainian war . Similarly, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó welcomed Fico's return to office in 2023, commenting: "Robert Fico has the same views on the war, migration and gender issues as us." Fico was a vocal opponent of the one-time planned construction of new U.S. anti-ballistic missile and radar systems in military bases in neighbouring Czech Republic and Poland , and one of his first steps upon taking office
2117-507: The 1850s. On 4 April 2008, during a visit by Russian prime minister Viktor Zubkov , Fico said: "In Slovakia, there have been efforts to deliberately ignore Slavonic solidarity." Slovakia modernised Russian MiG fighters in Russia and did not buy new jets from the West. Fico accused Georgia of "provoking Russia" in 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia . In June 2008, The Slovak Spectator published
2190-602: The Assembly of the PES conditionally reinstated the application after both SMER and SNS signed a letter committing themselves to respect minority rights. Fico never publicly condemned SNS' remarks and speeches, and government-level relations between Slovakia and Hungary deteriorated in his first term in office. Several meetings between the two countries' prime ministers were abruptly cancelled, and those few that did take place resulted in little improvement of relations. On 10 April 2007,
2263-575: The German E.ON ) with nationalization of their subsidiary and seizure of their ownership shares in a dispute over retail gas prices. Fico has been in favor of closer relations with China. His government voted against European Union tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024. Fico visited China in 2024, where he called for expanded trade and invested cooperation and praised China's peace plans for Ukraine. In foreign relations with Europe, Fico's government faced controversies due to its affiliation with
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2336-461: The Minister of Agriculture for HDZS Miroslav Jureňa resigning. Fico demanded Bríza to resign. Estimated damage to the state was half a billion Slovak crowns. Justice was delivered on 8 September 2015 when Bríza was deemed guilty and sentenced to 2 years probation. Before the 2010 election, Fico's party was in a relatively strong position according to several polls; however, just before the election,
2409-545: The Russian population of Donbas". Members of the Party of European Socialists called for Fico's party to be expelled from the group for allegedly spreading Russian propaganda and for seeking a coalition with the neo-fascist Republic Movement . Tension between Slovakia and Hungary, unstable from the past, was inflamed in 2006 following the parliamentary election and Fico's decision to include nationalist Ján Slota and his Slovak National Party into his governing coalition. Slota
2482-593: The Slovak foreign ministry rejected the March 2014 Crimean status referendum , which incorporated Crimea into Russia; Fico himself remained silent on the issue. Regarding the EU sanctions against Russia for its illegal annexation, Fico denounced them as "senseless" and a "threat to the Slovak economy". Fico condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022; he also opposed European sanctions against Russia for
2555-515: The Slovak political scene, including its parent party SDĽ, becoming the single most dominant political party in Slovakia. In the 2006 Slovak parliamentary election , SMER won with 29.1% of the votes. The election victory came after a campaign focused on reversing the deeply unpopular austerity reforms within the healthcare and education sectors, reforms which were pushed through by then ministers Rudolf Zajac and Martin Fronc . They subsequently formed
2628-612: The US-Slovak partnership, which Fico's spokesperson said is "based on shared democratic values and principles," after which he affirmed the strategic partnership between the two countries. In February 2023, Fico and SMER-SD were vocal opponents of the Slovak–American Defence Cooperation Agreement as disadvantageous to Slovakia , attacking Cabinet of Eduard Heger , especially Minister of Defence Jaroslav Naď , as well as President Zuzana Čaputová , accusing
2701-438: The amendments through parliament, limiting the time for debate and preventing the draft law from being reviewed by experts and others usually involved in the process. The changes were opposed by the Slovak president and opposition, and sparked large protests in Slovakia. Fico's government has also moved to take greater control of the media. Under the plans, the current public radio and television network RTVS would be replaced by
2774-653: The anniversary to openly criticise the political situation in Hungary and warn about the influence it might have on Slovakia. Especially he warned against the Hungarian right-wing politician Viktor Orbán , and his party Fidesz , which he called an "extreme nationalist party." By 2012, relations between the two countries had slightly improved. By 2022, Fico's relationship with Orbán's government in Hungary had warmed considerably. In 2022, Fico welcomed Orbán's re-election in Hungary, praising his nationalistic approach and stance on
2847-608: The country's history, having served for over 11 years. First elected to Parliament in 1992, he was appointed the following year to the Czechoslovak delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe . Following his party's victory in the 2006 parliamentary election , he formed his first Cabinet . His political positions have been described as populist , left-wing and conservative . After
2920-559: The country, weeks before the country was scheduled to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU . He further stated: "When I say something now, maybe it will seem strange, but I'm sorry, Islam has no place in Slovakia. I think it is the duty of politicians to talk about these things very clearly and openly. I do not wish there were tens of thousands of Muslims." On 30 November 2016, the Slovak parliament under Fico government passed
2993-578: The deputy director of the Slovak Land Fund and HZDS nominee Branislav Bríza signed a contract on the basis of which restitutors from eastern Slovakia became the owners of lucrative land in the Tatra village of Veľký Slavkov. These restitutors then quickly sold the land to the company GVM for 13 million Slovak crowns (Slovak currency prior to euro ). The figurehead of the company was a friend of Mečiar Milan Bališ. Bríza did so while his boss Hideghéty
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3066-634: The election "We will not send a single bullet to Ukraine". Fico said that efforts should instead focus on reaching a ceasefire and pushing Ukraine and Russia toward peace talks . He said "Why don't we force the warring parties [to] sit down and find some sort of compromise that would guarantee security for Ukraine?". In May 2023, Fico praised the peace plans put forward by the Holy See , Brazil and China . In October 2023, after his re-election, Fico announced Slovakia would not sell or send any more military equipment to Ukraine but would continue to help Ukraine in
3139-448: The exception of Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia , for post-election talks. Fico was given the first opportunity by the president to form a stable coalition. On 17 March, Fico informed Kiska that he would form a four-party government coalition , including Smer–SD, the Slovak National Party , Most–Híd and Network . On 14 March 2018, Fico publicly stated that he was ready to tender his resignation as prime minister in order to avoid
3212-599: The fall of the government of Vladimír Mečiar , Fico received the biggest number of preferential votes among his party colleagues. A year later, when support for the SDĽ dropped below the threshold required to get into parliament, he left the party, saying he was disappointed with the way the government worked. As early as in the autumn of 1998, a four-person group consisting of Fico, his associate Frantisek Határ, political strategist Fedor Flašík , and media executive Monika Flašíková-Beňová had begun to discuss and lay plans for launching
3285-414: The first such since 1989. In 2013, Fico declared his candidacy for the 2014 presidential election . Fico lost the election to his political rival Andrej Kiska in the second round of voting on 29 March 2014. In March 2018, owing to the political crisis following the murder of Ján Kuciak , Fico delivered his resignation to Kiska, who then charged Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini with the formation of
3358-515: The internationally isolated parties of Vladimír Mečiar and Ján Slota . Under his leadership, Slovakia entered the Eurozone in 2009, and Fico himself in a speech to the Oxford Union praised Slovakia's entry into the EU as a "success story." Fico opposed Kosovo 's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia , which he called a "major mistake". Slovakia has not recognised Kosovo as
3431-578: The invasion, arguing that the sanctions help Russian autarky and only harm the Russian population and European population rather than the regime. Fico invited the Russian diplomat Igor Bratchikov to speak at the celebration of the Slovak National Uprising on 29 August 2022. In 2023, Fico said that the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation violated international law but that Ukraine re-taking Crimea would not solve
3504-616: The latter of being an "American servant", in reference to promotion of American military and political interests in Slovakia. Prime Minister of Slovakia Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 974101127 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:53:57 GMT Jozef Morav%C4%8D%C3%ADk Jozef Moravčík (born 19 March 1945)
3577-792: The local Gymnasium of Topoľčany, graduating in the summer of 1982. Later the same year he enrolled in the Law Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava , in what was then Czechoslovakia. His teachers were impressed with him, and one of his teachers from university, the future prime minister Jozef Moravčík , described him as "ambitious, very confident and very involved in discussions." He graduated as juris doctor in 1986 specializing in criminal law. After graduating from university, Fico completed his mandatory military service as an assistant military investigator, stationed in
3650-438: The media , and abolished the Special Prosecutor's Office that dealt with corruption . These moves sparked mass protests. On 15 May 2024, Fico was hospitalized after an attempted assassination . Fico was born on 15 September 1964 in the town of Topoľčany , northwestern Nitra Region . His father, Ľudovit Fico, was a forklift operator, and his mother, Emilie Ficová, worked in a shoe store. He has two siblings. His brother Ladislav
3723-439: The news about the recording in great detail; Fico dismissed it as a forgery. Fico attacked the media sources that published information about the recording, saying: "Should I go over there and give you a smack because you are scoundrels? What you are doing is unheard of. You are masturbating on the prime minister every day." Sme announced Fico has since been questioned on the matter. Former Minister of Justice Daniel Lipšic told
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#17327912378873796-713: The now-Czech town of Janovice , between 1986 and 1987. He later worked for the Institute of State and Law of the Slovak Academy of Sciences , as well as with the Justice Ministry until 1992. During this period he wrote and completed his PhD degree, with a thesis on "The death penalty in Czechoslovakia". In the early 1990s, he undertook studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London under
3869-480: The opposition for the assassination attempt, alleging that they influenced the shooter. Slovak journalists and opposition leaders feared that the government would use the assassination attempt to crack down on them. The shooting was unanimously condemned by the National Council. Fico originally advocated the third way (recognition of the value of the market and business, but the role of government and
3942-472: The press he has "handed the recording to the general attorney office." In the election, Fico's SMER remained the biggest party in Parliament, with 62 seats, while his coalition partners were decimated, with the HZDS being completely shut out. Unable to find a partner willing to give him the 14 seats he needed to stay in office, Fico resigned. He said he "respects the election result", and expressed his desire to lead
4015-442: The previous government, in a way that slightly decreased or eradicated a tax-free part of income for higher income earners. A lower value added tax was imposed on medications and books; despite his electoral promises, Fico failed to extend this onto a wider group of products such as groceries. Among the measures were controversial legislative changes which effectively banned private health insurance companies from generating profit. As
4088-640: The resignation of prime minister Fico and his cabinet, and thereby tasked Pellegrini with forming a new government. Fico spent a number of years after his 2018 resignation in the political wilderness. During the COVID-19 pandemic , Fico advocated against vaccines, masks and lockdowns and spread disinformation about vaccine effects. In 2022 and 2023, Fico was a loud critic of the Von der Leyen Commission and her foreign and military policies in relation to Russian invasion of Ukraine . He also expressed disagreements with
4161-430: The result of the 2016 Slovak parliamentary election be respected, that the current ruling government coalition must continue, and that Smer-SD as the largest party currently in parliament, name the next prime minister. Fico stated that he already had a candidate in mind. Slovak media widely reported that the next prime minister would be Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini . On 15 March, President Kiska formally accepted
4234-483: The right-wing government of Mikuláš Dzurinda . In order to keep SMER from repeating the fate of his previous party, Fico introduced a strict set of regulations for his new party, called the "clean hands" policy. The rules stipulated that no one with ties from the previous Communist regime or people who had background with other political parties was allowed to hold party office. This created a new generation of politicians uninvolved in previous corruption scandals; among them
4307-406: The start of his second term as prime minister in 2012, Fico introduced a new Labour Code, which granted entitlement to a lay-off notice period, as well as severance pay, reduced overtime, making layoffs more expensive for employers, shorter temporary work contracts, and more power for trade unions. In addition, it curbed the chaining of fixed-term employment contracts, whereby it was possible to extend
4380-455: The time, he said he wanted to give a clear pro-European and pro- NATO orientation direction to his party. Fico had earlier in March accused President Kiska of plotting with George Soros to topple his government. Fico's announcement came after a meeting with President Kiska. In that meeting, Fico laid out a number of specific conditions that needed to be met by the president in order for him to resign. Those conditions were amongst others, that
4453-486: The truckers, saying he would not "be blackmailed". A few days later, he capitulated, and the cuts given to truckers amounted to about €100,000,000. In 2007, Fico criticised retail chains for price gouging. He said he would change the law to curb "the abuse of economic power by some retail chains". In August 2008, Fico threatened the foreign shareholders of the local gas distributor SPP (the French Gaz de France and
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#17327912378874526-490: The upcoming 2014 presidential election. He said: "I understand my candidacy as a service to Slovakia." He argued that he did not see his candidacy as an adventure, an escape or an attempt to culminate his political career. His campaign ran under the motto "Ready for Slovakia". On 9 January 2014, the Slovak Parliament, under Speaker Pavol Paška, officially approved the candidatures of Fico and 14 other candidates. Fico
4599-580: The use of violence but said that the protests were an internal affair in Ukraine. Commenting on Brexit in November 2016, Fico stated that it was unclear what the United Kingdom (UK) wanted, adding that it "must suffer" more than the 27 countries who would remain in the bloc. He also stated that the UK would not be allowed to make EU workers " second-class citizens " while still receiving the benefits of
4672-400: Was Monika Flašíková-Beňová, Robert Kaliňák , and Pavol Paška . Another rule was that all party chapters on the regional and local levels were to be 100% financially self-sufficient, and all financial donations were to be made public to the media. Between 2002 and 2006, Smer was the main opposition party in the Slovak parliament. In 2004, it merged with nearly all the leftist parties active on
4745-680: Was attributed to his loud criticism of the previous right-wing government's economic, tax, social, pension and legislative reforms, which had been backed by international bodies like the International Monetary Fund , the World Bank , and the OECD . One reaction to the coalition came from the European-wide Party of European Socialists (PES), who suspended SMER's application to join the PES. In late February 2008,
4818-421: Was defeated by the independent candidate Andrej Kiska , whose support from the Slovak right wing led him to victory by a wide margin (approximately 59%–41%) in the second round of voting on 29 March 2014. Fico's party won the 2016 parliamentary elections, amassing a plurality of seats; it failed to win a majority. On 7 March 2016, Andrej Kiska , the then President of Slovakia , invited each elected party, with
4891-484: Was first elected as member of parliament in 1992. From 1994 to 2000 Fico represented Slovakia as its legal counsel at the European Court of Human Rights but lost all 14 cases which he handled. In 1998, he was elected deputy chairman of the party. Later in 1998, Fico ran for the post of general prosecutor; his party endorsed another candidate instead, arguing that Fico was too young. In the 1998 elections that saw
4964-559: Was injured in a shooting in Handlová , Slovakia , in front of the city's House of Culture after a government meeting, and was subsequently hospitalized at the F.D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banská Bystrica . A 71-year-old poet named Juraj Cintula was immediately detained by police as a primary suspect. Fico was reportedly in a "life-threatening" condition following the attack, having suffered wounds to his stomach, arms, and legs but
5037-707: Was known for his fierce anti-Hungarian rhetoric, including that "Hungarians are a tumor on the Slovak nation that needs to be immediately removed." In the wake of the election several incidents occurred which further inflamed nationalist sentiment on both sides, including the alleged beating of a Hungarian woman in South Slovakia. Fico reacted by condemning the extremism but rebuked the Hungarian government by declaring: "The Slovak government doesn't need to be called on to strike against extremism." The row heated up again in September 2007, when Fico's government introduced
5110-456: Was on vacation. 10 April was the last day when Bríza had full power acting on behalf of his boss in the absence of his boss. This was the seventh suspicious contract he had signed up to that point. Such practices were previously criticized by Fico as they were common during the tenure of his Coalition partner HDZS leader Mečiar. This scandal almost led to the collapse of the Coalition. It led to
5183-575: Was stabilized following emergency surgery, and was expected to recover according to deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba . On 30 May, Fico was discharged from hospital and was allowed to continue his recovery at home. On 5 June 2024, Fico made his first comments on the attack, saying that he forgave the attacker as he is only the "messenger of evil" of the opposition. He added that he expected to return to work later that month or in July. Senior politicians from Fico's ruling coalition blamed independent media and
5256-576: Was strong opposition to the plans both inside and outside Slovakia. Noel Curran , the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) director general, said in a statement that "This appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to turn the Slovak public service broadcaster into state-controlled media ". In 2023, Fico's government also cut off communication with four domestic media outlets, calling them "hostile" and "not objective enough". Instead, it favors pro-Russian media such as Hlavné správy . At
5329-679: Was withdrawing Slovak troops from Iraq. Fico described the Iraq War as "unjust and wrong" and said that the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 "caused huge tensions", adding that to speak "about any democracy in Iraq is a fantasy" and that " the security situation [in Iraq] is catastrophic". In November 2013, Fico visited the U.S. president Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. , where they spoke about
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