Tens of thousands of people participated in a protest in Bratislava on Friday against Prime Minister Robert Fico, criticised for his pro-Russia stance and accused of authoritarianism.
Mr Fico, leading a three-party coalition, accused opponents of preparing “a coup d’État” amid a tense atmosphere as protests have surged in recent weeks. Waving Slovak and European flags, a crowd estimated at 40,000 gathered in Bratislava. Other protests were held in around forty cities nationwide, even spreading to rural Slovakia.
“We are defending democracy, freedom, and human rights as perceived by the EU and enshrined in our Constitution. We are here to preserve this,” said Barbora Kabinova, 39, to AFP.
Another protester, Juraj Kadlec, 70, expressed disapproval of “the government’s change of direction.”
“I hope our representatives will realise this and either change their actions or decide to resign,” added Mr Kadlec, asserting that the protest was “not a coup at all.”
Since his return to power for the fourth time in October 2023, Robert Fico, one of the few EU leaders close to the Kremlin, has moved to strengthen ties with Moscow and halted military aid to Ukraine. In December, he visited Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. During this visit, he criticised Ukraine’s decision to stop the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe through its territory.
