Fico’s CPAC speech draws fire for pro-Russian, pro-Trump rhetoric

BRATISLAVA – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico delivered an enthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, drawing sharp criticism from the Slovak opposition.

Fico, a former member of Czechoslovakia’s Communist Party and a long-time critic of the United States, praised current US President Donald Trump for his “energy in negotiations on Ukraine” and also claimed in his speech on Friday that “Russia had serious security reasons for the war”.

Known for his pro-Russian policies and frequent repetition of Kremlin narratives, Fico was introduced at the conference as a defender of ‘traditional values’ and an ‘advocate of peace in Ukraine’.

“Your president is doing a great service to Europe by bringing the truth,” Fico said of Trump, adding that the European Union should “help him end this senseless war rather than obstruct him.”

During his own speech at the CPAC conference, Trump acknowledged Fico, saying, “Thank you, Robert.”

Opposition leader Michal Šimečka of the liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS/RE) party criticised Fico’s speech, saying it showed “how far the prime minister has abandoned Slovakia and the interests of its citizens”.

“If Fico should be putting effort into anything today, it should be a strong and united Europe, with Slovakia firmly anchored within it. Only Europe and good relations with its key countries can guarantee Slovakia’s economic prosperity and security,” said Šimečka.

“Instead, Fico is cozying up to Putin and Trump – a bet on the worst possible ‘allies.’ One would humiliate and swallow us the moment he defeats Ukraine, while the other doesn’t care about us and would hand us over to Putin for free, just as he is now throwing Ukrainians under the bus,” he said.

Šimečka also remarked that “instead of working to strengthen Slovakia’s position in Europe, (…) Fico chooses to lecture American conservatives about gender in our Constitution.”

The leader of the liberal opposition party SaS, Branislav Gröhling, also condemned Fico for choosing to attend the conservative conference in the US instead of meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“That is a political mistake,” SaS party leader Branislav Gröhling told Slovak broadcaster Joj 24 on Sunday. He also noted that Fico chose to speak at the conference despite the fact that Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon gave a Nazi salute there.

Gröhling pointed out that even Jordan Bardella, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally, withdrew from the event after Bannon’s gesture.

Renowned sociologist Michal Vašečka told Denník N that Fico’s CPAC speech marked his “political coming out.”

“The former social democrat, communist member (…) has suddenly become a conservative speaking at a gathering of conservatives in the US,” Vašečka said, adding that Fico is now “finally among his own”.

Experts had warned in an analysis for Euractiv Slovakia that a faction within Fico’s party, Smer-SD, was moving away from its declared stance of “social democracy” and towards the far right.

(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)