Protests against Fico’s government in Slovakia, a record demo in Bratislava

On January 25, thousands of people in Slovakia protested against the government led by Prime Minister Robert Fico.

According to Aktuality, people came out to protest despite the weather, which was not very favorable, including strong gusty winds.

About 27 thousand people gathered in the Slovak capital, Bratislava. The media called this number of protesters a record; last week, according to police estimates, about 26,000 people took part in the protests.

Protesters held demonstrations in 24 Slovak cities as well as abroad—in Paris, Krakow, Brno, and Prague.

The protesters expressed their dissatisfaction with Fico himself, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko, who fled the scene of the accident, and the Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová.

The protesters are also dissatisfied with the controversial reform of the special prosecutor’s office. Fico’s government plans to amend the criminal code and dissolve the special prosecutor’s office.

One of the topics of the protests was presidential candidate Peter Pellegrini, who, according to the opposition, “does not know how to run the parliament on his own.”

Opposition parties remain the main organizers, but civil society organizations are also involved.

In a speech to the country’s parliament on January 18, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová called on lawmakers to reconsider plans to amend the criminal code and dissolve the special prosecutor’s office, which have raised EU concerns about the rule of law.