Slovak Prime Minister Fico accuses opposition of trying to overthrow him Ukraine-style

Populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed opposition forces were preparing a “Maidan”-style coup, referring to the popular uprising that toppled Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

Fico, who survived an assassination attempt last May, cited what he said was a classified report in anticipation of an opposition-sponsored motion of no confidence in his government on Tuesday.

His statement coincided with a visit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Both leaders sharply criticized the Ukrainian president and advocated peace talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The opposition has accused Fico of abusing SIS to torpedo parliamentary procedure and prevent public scrutiny of his government, which holds a razor-thin majority.

Fico has warned of early elections if his coalition allies fail to resolve their differences.

Tuesday’s no-confidence vote in the Slovak Parliament was abandoned after the president agreed to Fico’s request to hold the entire session in secret.

The opposition quickly withdrew.

Fico had insisted that he should refer to the report – from the Slovak civilian intelligence service SIS – during the debate before the vote.

“The report was just a bunch of platitudes compiled from emails,” said Tomas Valasek, deputy leader of the liberal opposition Progressive Slovakia, who helped table the no-confidence motion.

“But classifying this was important, because it allowed them to classify the whole debate about government failures,” he told the BBC from Bratislava.

“It was essentially a procedural trick to muzzle the opposition. That’s all there is in the report,” he continued.

Speaking to reporters shortly after the debate, Fico accused the opposition of trying to overthrow his democratically elected government, a coalition of left-wing, nationalist and populist parties.

“I cannot give you names or discuss the circumstances, but I can tell you very seriously that the Slovak opposition is preparing a Maidan,” he said.

“The Slovak opposition plans to occupy government buildings. They intend to prevent the authorities from carrying out their official functions,” added the Prime Minister.

The SIS later issued a statement claiming to have obtained serious information about an “organized, long-term influence operation aimed at destabilizing the Slovak Republic.”

The emails allegedly included in the classified report were later leaked to SME Daily.

Evidence of a secret coup plot appears slim.

The emails came from an NGO in the town of Banska Bystrica called “Not In Our Town”, active since 2013. The emails propose an escalating series of non-violent public protests and blockades of public buildings, with three stated goals. :

• Force the government to act in accordance with the law and democratic principles
• Reject any form of collaboration with Russia and support Ukraine
• Maintain Slovakia’s pro-European and pro-Atlantic orientation.

But Not In Our Town said there was nothing secret about the plans: They were drawn up with the help of ChatGPT and emailed to some 140 organizers.

“It’s stressful, but on the other hand it’s kind of ridiculous,” said one of the group’s coordinators, Martina Strmenova.

“We put the emails on our Facebook page because there’s nothing secret about them. It’s crazy,” she told the BBC.

She had not, she said, been contacted by the intelligence services.

The opposition has little confidence in the impartiality of the SIS. One of Robert Fico’s first acts upon returning to power in 2023 was to appoint Pavol Gaspar, son of former police chief Tibor Gaspar, as head of the agency.

Tibor Gaspar was forced to resign as police chief following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018, a seismic event in Slovak politics that also forced Mr Fico to abandon his third term as Prime Minister.

Gaspar is now an MP for Fico’s left-wing Smer party and has just returned from a controversial visit to Moscow. His son believes that it is wrong to criticize the professionalism of the SIS.

Meanwhile, Fico will oversee an emergency session of the security council convened Thursday morning to discuss the findings of the “secret report.”

He promised “significant preventative measures” to prevent what he called an alleged coup against his government.

He claimed that a group of US-funded experts involved in the anti-Yanukovych protests in Ukraine and more recent demonstrations in Georgia were already operating in Slovakia. She was closely monitored by Slovak intelligence services, he said.

Tens of thousands of Slovaks have demonstrated in recent months against alleged restrictions on the rule of law and media freedom, the resumption of relations with Russia and the end of support for Ukraine.

The final round of nationwide protests will take place on Friday.