Friday

29th Mar 2024

Slovak ex-PM narrowly stays out of jail in corruption fiasco

Listen to article

In a major blow to the anti-corruption rhetoric of the Slovak ruling coalition, the parliament in Bratislava has rejected a request for the arrest of ex-prime minister Robert Fico.

Fico faces charges of abusing his powers, under a scheme the prosecutor described as a "criminal group" operating during the previous government.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"Justice has lost a battle," Igor Matovič, leader of the main government OLaNO party commented after the vote on late Wednesday (4 May). "It is one of many we will still have to fight in this war," he said.

"It was clearly a political process," Fico told journalists and thanked deputies for stopping the move. While all opposition MPs voted against, all members of the coalition Sme Rodina party of the parliament chairman Boris Kollár and two OLaNO MPs abstained.

As a result, two votes were missing for the assembly to give a green light for Fico's arrest. The decision means Fico's criminal prosecution continues without a judicial verdict on his custody.

In the same criminal case, the court had ruled that Robert Kalinak, ex-minister of the interior in the governments headed by Fico between 2006 and 2018 be kept in custody — as he is no longer a deputy, the parliament's permission was not required.

The charges against the two leading figures of the social democrat party (SMER-SD) come after a series of corruption and abuse-of-power cases involving top-level state officials, such as the former attorney general, and ex-chiefs of police and tax administration.

According to prosecutors, Fico and Kalinak used confidential tax information provided by members of that illegal scheme to publicly attack their political opponents, namely former president Andrej Kiska and the then opposition politician and current finance minister Matovič.

For his part, Fico has argued that it was all just politics.

"If they at least fabricated corruption charges, but to accuse me of setting up a criminal group by appointing loyal people to office would suggest that any government leader could be regarded the head of organised crime," he says.

But NGOs following the investigation of cases — like bribes collected in return for closing criminal prosecutions, or corruption schemes designed for distributing public money, including EU agriculture subsidies — view Fico's claims as part of his legal defence.

"State capture would undoubtedly be impossible without the assistance of political leaders," Zuzana Petkova, of the Stop Corruption Foundation in Slovakia told EUobserver.

"And there are testimonies of state capture by officials from police, financial and public administration who have confessed corruption and, in some cases, have been sentenced. So, I disagree that this is simply a political process," she added.

Several suspects have already come under scrutiny as a result of the investigative reporting of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak, and much of the other revelations followed, as part of the investigation of his murder in 2018.

Fico fights back

Before the Slovak parliament's decision, Fico tried to convince European politicians and institutions of his case.

Reacting to his letter, Věra Jourová, EU justice commissioner, told Czech TV that the EU executive cannot interfere with criminal investigations. But she criticised as "insulting beneath the dignity" Fico's comments on current president Zuzana Čaputová, whom he had referred to as "an American missus."

Fico fired back that Jourová had failed to act on "the total destruction of justice in Slovakia, although it is part of her job description for which she gets a €20,000-a-month salary."

In the opposite initiative, eight Slovak MEPs called on the S&D group to kick out Fico's Smer-SD party, saying the party no longer represents their values.

They highlighted vulgar insults against Čaputová by its supporters at a 1 May gathering, incited by party vice-chairman Ľuboš Blaha.

Monika Beňová, MEP and quaestor of the European Parliament, later apologised on social media for the incident, and said she had not heard the insults while standing on the stage.

"Unfortunately, the rhetoric of Robert Fico and other leading members of SMER-SD increasingly resembles that of the extremists. Through these actions, they have taken their party to the fringes of the European political spectrum," Miriam Lexmann, MEP in the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) told EUobserver.

Deja vu in courting extremists

For her part, Beňová rebuked attempts by other Slovak MEPs to attack the Smer-SD party in Brussels.

"We have pushed forward on the long-term basis all the topics which are associated with social democracy," she was quoted as saying by the TASR agency.

However, many in Slovakia would disagree, hinting at the party leaders's previous stance on human rights, migration, or other solidarity-related issues.

Back in 2006, the S&D suspended the membership of Smer-SD for their coalition with the far-right Slovak National Party.

But based on the party's current anti-American and anti-Nato rhetoric, analysts predict Smer-SD could be tempted to join forces with the extremists again.

Dominika Hajdu, the head of Bratislava-based Globsec Centre for Democracy & Resilience pointed out that "most opposition parties in Slovakia currently exploit the natural fears of war," among the population and their worries over its impact on the energy and food prices.

She argues that the so-called "bread issues" could become the main source of criticism of the government's decisions on Ukrainian refugees and sanctions against Russia, and that could be ultimately directed against the EU's collective action on these issues.

Author bio

Lucia Virostkova is a Slovak freelance journalist.

Croatian and Slovak courts seen as 'least independent'

Independence of courts in Austria, in Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherland and Denmark is seen as very, or fairly, good, according to a survey published with the EU Commission's annual justice scoreboard.

'Fragmented' Slovakia votes amid corruption woes

Saturday's elections in Slovakia could herald the rise of the far-right People's Party Our Slovakia, or the emergence of a populist anti-corruption candidate, in a country wracked by mistrust since the assassination two years ago of an investigative journalist.

Slovakia's government stares into the abyss

When a pro-western coalition swept to power in Slovak elections in 2020, many saw it as the start of a new era. Yet fast forward two-and-a-half years, and the four-party coalition is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Analysis

Slovak's 'illiberal' Fico victory boosts Orbán, but faces checks

Fico has the potential to shift Slovakia from the West and jeopardise the EU unity in its stance against Russia's Ukraine war. His victory could also have a domino effect in central Europe and empower of other far-right, populist movements.

Feature

Shock gives way to division after Slovak gay bar shooting

Despite the immediate shock and outburst of solidarity after the recent terrorist attack by a 19-year-old sympathiser of far-right conspiracies, Slovak society appears to be absorbed in even deeper ideological divisions on issues related to gender and sexual orientation

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us