Fico’s Government Of Revenge and Revision

Quick, systemic changes in Bratislava pave the way for democratic backsliding

30 November 2023

Wasting no time, Robert Fico’s new government in Bratislava has made the first moves to retake nearly every facet of government.

Revenge, revision, restoration – these three words can be used to describe the modus operandi of the new Slovak government headed by Robert Fico at the beginning of its tenure.

Not government as usual

Formed after the September 2023 elections, the ruling coalition Smer-SD – Hlas-SD – SNS took power in a way that is not usual in established democracies as it is not only a change of political and socio-economic priorities in the administration of the state after one government was replaced by another. The measures of the new Fico government create the possibility of systemic changes in the field of political democracy, rule of law, equality of citizens and foreign and defence-security policy.

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Grigorij Mesežnikov

Grigorij Mesežnikov is a political scientist and the President of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) in Slovakia. He has published expert studies on party systems’ development and political aspects of transformation in post-communist societies, illiberal and authoritarian tendencies, populism, nationalism and hybrid threats in various monographs, collections and scholarly journals in Slovakia and other countries.

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