Robert Fico did not appear in public after his December visit to Moscow, “Dennik N” newspaper portal noted, adding that the media do not know where the Slovak prime minister is. The press office of the country’s president, Petro Pellegrini, reported to the Sme newspaper that “the president has been informed about the duration of the leave and the whereabouts of the prime minister.” But the newspaper emphasizes that Pellegrini does not disclose this information.
The head of the Slovak government met with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on December 22. They discussed, among other things, the issue of Russian gas delivery, the war in Ukraine, and the stabilization of Slovakia-Russia relations. This was the last time Fico was seen in public. Slovakian media reported on Friday that the Prime Minister’s whereabouts have not been known for two weeks.
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The president knows where the prime minister is. But he doesn’t reveal it
On Saturday, “Sme” newspaper wrote that Slovakian President Petr Pellegrini knows where Fico is, but does not reveal his whereabouts.
Pellegrini’s press service answered the questions of “Sme” that “the president has been informed about the duration of the leave and where the prime minister will be.” “It is not the duty of the head of state to comment on his whereabouts. This is the independent decision of the prime minister,” they added.
Robert Fico met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Photo from December 22 Alexander Zemlianichenko/POOL/PAP/EPA
Fico has not appeared in public since he was in Moscow. However, he published two recordings on the Internet explaining the suspension of Russian gas transit by Ukraine. On Friday, the Dennik N newspaper reported that one of its readers admitted that one of the videos was taken in a luxury suite at the five-star Capella Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Journalists from the Dennik H newspaper website contacted the hotel and asked to be connected to an apartment that Fiko could rent. The call was transferred but no one answered the phone. The receptionist explained that the person was probably not in the room.
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One day in this hotel costs about 6200 PLN. euro The leader of Slovakia’s strongest opposition party, the Progressive Party (PS), Michal Simečka, wrote that his party would make sure that every Fico voter, frustrated by high prices, finds out how much the prime minister’s possible stay at a hotel in Hanoi will cost. .
Another PS politician, former head of diplomacy and former Slovakian presidential candidate Ivan Korchok, said on social media that the situation is unprecedented and that the prime minister is not a private person, even on vacation.
Anti-government demonstration in Bratislava
The absence of Fico at the head of the government could not stop the protest that was organized on Friday evening against the Prime Minister’s policy. Demonstrators expressed their protest along with others: about his meeting with Putin.
The protest was organized by the initiative of “Peace for Ukraine” citizens, and its purpose was to oppose the direction the country is heading under the leadership of the current prime minister. The organizers emphasized that Slovakia belongs to Europe, and with his visit to Moscow, Fico sold democracy in Slovakia and the country’s place in the European Union. Specially prepared posters with the inscriptions “We are Europe” and “Treason” were visible among the crowd. “We will not remain silent”, “We will not surrender to Slovakia” and “Fika is enough” were heard.
Organizers announced that similar protests will be held in other Slovak cities next week. On January 10, demonstrators will return to the capital.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN/POL
