Slovakia: Robert Fico’s government fights on all fronts

Slovakia: Robert Fico’s government fights on all fronts

After a relatively quiet summer, a series of anti-government protests have taken place in Bratislava and across Slovakia over the past two weeks. What has motivated protesters to take to the streets again?

About 10,000 people gathered in Bratislava’s Freedom Square this week to protest the policies of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government. Rallies were also held in several other cities across Slovakia.

The turnout was smaller than last week, when 16,000 people gathered in the capital. On that occasion, demonstrators also heard an announcement from four liberal opposition parties that they would reach a cooperation agreement.

The protests are a continuation of a series of demonstrations that began after Fico returned to the post of prime minister in late 2023. They are set to be added to the growing list of challenges – both domestic and international – facing the Slovak prime minister.

International criticism

At the international level, attention continues to focus on Fico’s close relations with Russia and China, which sparked the first protests.

The European front was further troubled by Fico’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in early September, as well as his refusal to halt Russian energy purchases, and his attempt to implement constitutional changes that would give Slovak law precedence over EU law.

All of this, along with authoritarian restrictions on the media and NGOs, reportedly convinced the Party of European Socialists (PES) to permanently expel Fico’s party, known as the left-wing party, Smer, from its EU parliamentary group.

Michal Šemecka, leader of the liberal opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS), told DW that the move, which the PES is expected to confirm in mid-October, “would be a significant blow to Robert Fico’s reputation.”

The most important domestic issues for Slovaks

However, analysts say Slovakia’s deep political polarization means that international issues currently have little impact on the country. Radoslav Štefančík of the University of Economics in Bratislava tells DW that the PES move “won’t even be noticed by Smer voters.”

Domestic issues are clearly the main battleground in Slovakia. Recent opposition demonstrations, organized under the slogan “Protest against impoverishment!”, have taken direct aim at Fico’s economic policies.

They are a response to the consolidation package announced by the government, the third set of austerity measures since it took power.

The package, approved by the Slovak parliament on Wednesday evening (September 24, 2025), is an attempt to curb the country’s economic crisis, which is being further worsened by US tariffs on the automotive industry, a key industry in the country.

It aims to reduce the budget deficit by 2.7 billion euros by 2026. While no one disputes the need for the measures, the emphasis on increasing taxes and social security, cutting public sector wages and jobs, and cutting social welfare is causing discontent.

Critics argue that the package will hit ordinary citizens hard, while sparing oligarchs linked to Smer. Business groups complain that it will weaken competitiveness. The Slovak government’s press office did not respond to DW’s request for comment.

Government instability

Some believe that widespread anger over the economic consolidation plan could revive the instability that has dogged the tripartite ruling coalition since it came to power nearly two years ago.

After temporarily losing his parliamentary majority earlier this year as rebel lawmakers sought to implement their demands, Fico has regained their loyalty in ministerial posts and his government now commands 79 of the 150 seats in Parliament.

Adrius Tursa of the London-based consulting firm Teneo Intelligence said he expects the parliamentary debate on the economic package to “test Fico’s fragile parliamentary majority.”

The opposition wants to overthrow the government.

The opposition wants to use the current situation to help bring down the ruling coalition. But this will not be easy.

Although, as the SP leader says, “representatives of each party are now publicly discussing a consolidation package,” Fico’s smaller coalition partners – the center-left Hlas party and the radical-right Slovak National Party – are taking no chances, aware that their support has been declining since the last elections.

None of them “want a repeat of the situation from 2020-2023, when they were in opposition,” adds Radoslav Štefančik.

Will voters support the Liberals?

At the same time, voters have not forgotten those three years when a conflicting coalition, made up of liberal parties, caused chaos.

When asked how he could convince the country’s citizens that the newly announced agreement for cooperation between the three parties would be different, Šimečka stressed that members of his Progressive Slovakia (PS) party are “visiting the regions … and talking to disappointed people who voted for Fico’s coalition.”

However, analysts believe that these voters – mainly from poorer backgrounds – will be the ones who will feel the economic consequences of the package the most and that, instead of liberals, they will be more likely to vote for parties such as the far-right Republika party.

Some in the liberal opposition are trying to exploit Fico’s pro-Russian orientation to draw a parallel between the controversy over the package of measures to consolidate the economy and the “Revolution” of 1989. Perhaps the most controversial part of the package is the proposal to abolish two official holidays, including November 17 – the Day of the Uprising that marked the beginning of the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Some opposition parties have called for a general strike on that day, as happened 36 years ago.

Opposition actions

But others in the opposition fear this could be an embarrassing and extremely costly disappointment. Shimecka stresses that his SP party will remain cautious, insisting that it is “ready to challenge Fico to a duel in the next elections, in two years or tomorrow.”

But observers estimate that elections will most likely not take place until 2027. The Slovak prime minister was forced from power once – in 2018 – after the murder of journalist Jan Kucijak, who was investigating corruption and possible links between Slovak authorities and the mafia.

This was a near political disaster for Fico, as he faced indictments and an investigation. “This time he will not go without a big fight,” Matishak concludes. /REL