As Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico remains under the care of doctors in a hospital in the city of Banska Bistrica after the assassination attempt on him brought politics to a standstill, light is being shed on the highly contentious political climate and media environment and the role of of non-governmental organizations in Slovakia that the prime minister’s defenders say instigated the assassination attempt (please read the analysis titled “Europe shocked by the assassination attempt of R. Fico – The political path of a controversial leader“), having all the elements that have led neighboring states to color revolutions in the past.
Slovakia’s prime minister had previously warned of the possibility of polarization in the country turning into political violence, arguing in a video message just over a month ago that opposition media rhetoric could lead to the “assassination of some of the top government politicians”. .
Still others questioned the influence of foreign NGOs and Western government-backed organizations, which often play a role in inciting political unrest and even regime change around the world. Fico has been almost scorned for his steadfast refusal to contribute military aid to the Ukrainian regime, insisting that he does not believe it is in Slovakia’s interest, and has been targeted according to Sputnik which puts together all the elements of inciting polarization.
The “Russian Tilt”
Fico has been frequently criticized in the Western media since he began his fourth term as Slovakia’s prime minister in 2023.
As leader of the country’s Social Democratic party – commonly referred to as SMER – Fico has remained perhaps Slovakia’s most prominent politician, serving as prime minister for a longer period than any other leader in the country’s post-independence history. But Fico’s electoral success has not stopped liberal columnists from insisting that – somehow – the popular leader represents a vague threat to “democracy” in Slovakia.
Mainstream European media have blasted the prime minister as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his opposition to arming Ukraine, with a Guardian columnist writing that he “praises Moscow”, but without citing examples. Instead, the author insisted that Fico “models Victor Orban, the leader of the ‘far right’ in neighboring Hungary” (Fico is, in fact, a left-wing politician).
The Prime Minister is also accused of “reprimanding the West for his constituents”, while his party’s vice-president describes the war in Ukraine as a “proxy war of the United States against Russia”. These reviews, at least, make it clear that the Western media’s complaints against Fico are ideological.
The Guardian once again turned to the subject of Slovakia just over a month before Fico’s recent assassination attempt, with a hit piece accusing him of being “out of sync with the liberal West”. As proof of the claim, the testimony of a communications consultant for the opposition party is cited as the country’s “Russian leaning”.
Slovakian opposition protests held earlier this year received heavy coverage in the European press, leading some to question whether Western leaders would start openly encouraging unrest as they did in Georgia. Had the seeds of a regime change operation been planted?
USAID to the rescue
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has become one of the United States’ most important instruments of regime change.
Under the banner of goals such as economic development and government transparency, the organization invests in various social causes worldwide.
But the organization has also been used as a weapon of US influence, funding organizations, activists and politicians aligned with Western interests. Thus, funding priorities such as “independent media development” obscures support for opposition-aligned media outlets.
“Strengthening civil society” always means strengthening US-aligned pressure groups. Along with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) – a government agency described by one of its founders as dedicated to continuing the work of the CIA – USAID is an important part of US efforts to intervene in the political systems of foreign countries.
Controversial USAID administrator Samantha Power visited Slovakia in 2022 to meet with members of the then-ruling opposition party. Her trip also took her to neighboring Moldova, where she visited the offices of Mediacor, a USAID-funded organization ostensibly dedicated to “strengthening independent journalism.”
Claims that the “Kremlin is weaponizing disinformation” have been central to Power’s trip, as the Biden administration uses the talking point as a pretext to regulate and censor social media. Power met with the GLOBSEC organization during her stay in Slovakia, a US government-backed organization dedicated to advancing US and NATO interests in the country.
GLOBSEC grew out of the Slovak Atlantic Commission, an agency dedicated to encouraging Slovakia’s integration into NATO and the European Union. The organization has hosted figures such as former British Prime Minister David Cameron, former US Secretary of State Madleen Albright and current European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in glittering speeches in Bratislava.
In 2021, GLOBSEC hosted members of the Belarusian opposition in Slovakia for a meeting dedicated to discussing “systemic reforms”. It was hoped that “Belarusian professionals” could “familiarize themselves with the Slovak experience of market economy transformation”, as the US-backed Belarusian opposition hoped to take power in Minsk to implement pro-phile neoliberal policies.
Such “systemic reforms” have remained a key motivation for the efforts of billionaire donors such as George Soros, who stand to benefit from the loosening of financial regulation across Europe.
The long arm of Soros
George Soros’s political giving has made the wealthy financier a controversial figure – a 1991 Washington Post article called him the “unseen businessman” of US-backed regime change operations.
Along with US government organizations like the NED, Soros funnels his vast wealth to pro-Western activists who help overthrow the Russian and social democratic governments.
But how did the billionaire exert his influence in Slovakia? The record is murky, as Robert Fico’s leadership has allowed the country to keep its social democratic economy relatively intact, but the billionaire’s organizations maintain a presence in Slovakia as they do across the continent.
Earlier this month, a member of Fico’s Smer party publicly criticized the NGO Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS), which attacked a proposed law to register foreign agents in Slovakia.
The organization has rejected the accusation that it is funded by George Soros (the organization is actually supported by the US government), but Soros funds a number of other organizations operating in the country, including Slovakian branches of the Open Society Foundation and the International Research Council and Exchanges (IREX).
IREX has funded a number of scholarships for liberal activists in the country, including at least one who worked for Aktuality.sk – one of the media outlets Fico accused of inciting political hatred in Slovakia.
Meanwhile, the Georgian branch of Soros’ Civil Society Foundation (CSF), which has been instrumental in promoting anti-government protests in Tbilisi, has similarly branded Robert Fico an “authoritarian” leader over Slovakia’s NGO transparency law .
Open Society Georgia (OSGF)
The allied Open Society Foundation Georgia (OSGF) has contributed to the so-called “media monitoring” efforts in Bratislava.
Some anti-government protests broke out in Slovakia earlier this year, but protests have yet to reach the scale they did in Georgia. Foreign-backed NGOs are recognized as a way for foreign interests to covertly exert influence abroad, allowing their donors to raise and lower the temperature of political confrontations at will.
If events have not yet reached the boiling point of regime change in Slovakia, it may simply be because outside interests are occupied elsewhere or are still waiting for the right moment.
However, the firing of Prime Minister Fico is certainly a highly damaging development that demonstrates the polarized environment in the country. Those concerned with safeguarding Slovak society must guard against such destructive outside influences as the country tries to forge its own path.
Russophobia has done much to damage political discourse, in the United States and elsewhere. In Slovakia it appears to have almost led to the death of the nation’s leader, rather than his overthrow through a new color revolution.
