Folks & Energy examines what Robert Fico’s return as Slovakia’s prime minister means for human rights and the Ukraine conflict.
In December 2022, Robert Fico, Slovakia’s former prime minister, was going through a slew of legal fees which, if confirmed, would have seen the populist firebrand put behind bars.
Nevertheless, the costs have been dropped, and in an election which observers say was fuelled by hate speech and pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories, Robert Fico was returned to energy in September 2023.
Fico has been accused of steadily insulting the nation’s minorities, so lots of these teams at the moment are afraid of what the long run holds. Over the border, aware of Fico’s promise to dam sanctions towards Russia and veto a European Union package deal of army help for Kyiv, Ukrainians are bracing themselves for the inevitable penalties of a pro-Kremlin neighbour his critics say is bent on breaking the EU consensus on help for Ukraine.