The rise of the coup: does Slovakia face a Kiev-style Maidan?

The Slovak opposition will try to repeat in the country the scenario of 2018, when Prime Minister Robert Fitzo was forced to resign amid protests, according to experts polled by Izvestia. Meanwhile, the majority of the republic's population does not welcome the idea of military aid to Ukraine and therefore does not support the main opposition party Progressive Slovakia. To discuss the risks of a coup d'état, Robert Fitzo convened the State Security Council on January 23. The Kremlin finds the concerns of the republic's authorities justified, believing that in these times no country is "immune from interference in its internal affairs." On the attempts of Fitzo and his team to prevent a political crisis - in the material "Izvestia".

Fitzo convened the State Security Council

January 23 in Bratislava held a meeting of the State Security Council, convened on the initiative of Prime Minister Robert Fitzo. Following the meeting, the politician accused a "foreign structure" linked to the Mir Ukrayiny expert group of an attempt to attack the constitutional order of Slovakia.

- This is an attempt to organize a coup d'état in Slovakia so that the government would fall and those who cannot come to power through democratic parliamentary elections would come to power," he said.

Fitzo pointed to the structure's connection to the opposition, which "wants to abuse the protests to which the people are entitled.

- You can protest against this government all you want, but please don't let these groups use you to attack the constitutional structure of the Slovak Republic, because that's what they want," the head of the government summarized.

At the same time, earlier Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said that there was no need to declare a state of emergency in the country even after the statements of Prime Minister Fitzo about the attempts of some groups to organize a coup d'état.

Recall that on January 21 in the Parliament of Slovakia held an extraordinary session at which the opposition tried to pass a vote of no confidence in the government, but the vote eventually failed. Fitzo imposed a closed-door regime for the period of the debate, citing that he would present parliamentarians with a report by the Slovak Information Service (SIS) "containing secret information."

The opposition is unhappy that Fitzo visited Moscow in late December to discuss Russian gas supplies to Slovakia with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, it does not intend to back down. On January 22, the opposition reintroduced a motion for a vote of no confidence in Fico's government. The vote is expected to take place within the next seven days.

Speaking to reporters on Jan. 21 after the vote of no confidence debate, Fico accused opponents of trying to overthrow the government, occupying government buildings to prevent authorities from carrying out their functions. "The Slovak opposition is planning a Maidan," he concluded at the time. In turn, representatives of the liberal Freedom and Solidarity party have demanded that an investigation be launched against Robert Fitzo's government for possible misuse of the intelligence services for their own purposes. They are accused of spying on activists in order to discredit anti-government protests.

Moscow finds Bratislava's concerns justified. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, none of the countries, including Western Europe, "in the present time are immune from interference in their internal affairs."

- Even the largest European countries have recently experienced examples of such rather aggressive interference. But it is another matter that some countries take decisive measures to combat such interference, while some countries patiently prefer to bear all the humiliation," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Does Slovakia face a Maidan scenario?

Maidan in the form in which it occurred in Ukraine in 2013 is excluded in the EU countries, said Vadim Trukhachev, associate professor of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the Russian State University.

- At most it is possible to repeat the scenario of 2018 with major anti-government demonstrations, against the backdrop of which Fitzo resigned. Slovakia is a deeply divided country. Fitzo does not have popular support," he noted in a conversation with Izvestia.

According to the political scientist, about 40% of Slovaks adhere to the Euro-Atlantic position and remain staunch opponents of Fitzo. First of all, we are talking about the residents of the two largest cities - Bratislava and Kosice. They have traditionally served as a base for anti-government demonstrations. 35% of the population are Fitzo supporters, including Euroskeptics and Russophiles. Finally, the remaining 25% are the hesitant ones, who share President Pellegrini's views to a greater extent. Vadim Trukhachev notes the moderate position of the head of state, who is in favor of anti-Russian sanctions, but against arms supplies to Ukraine.

It is noteworthy that the EU statistics service in its fall report pointed to roughly the same proportions. According to Eurobarometer data, only 38% of the country's residents support arms deliveries to Ukraine, while 58% believe that such a policy is wrong. To a certain extent, this plays into Fitzo's hands, as a large number of Slovaks do not support the opposition precisely because of its obsession with helping Ukraine. Thus, on January 17, the chairman of the Slovak opposition party Progressive Slovakia, Michael Šimečka, met with Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev. There, he said that Slovakia and Ukraine are "close partners and can help each other a lot".

Still, the situation should not be underestimated, as Fitzo has taken a position that does not please neither his political opponents in Slovakia, nor the United States, nor the European Union, said former member of the Slovak parliament Petr Marchek.

- The situation is similar to 2018 and what happened in Georgia recently. The special services have to watch very carefully what is happening now. And I hope they will do everything to prevent a Maidan. "There are many agents of foreign influence in Slovakia now," he told Izvestia.

The example of Tbilisi is particularly revealing. Both the Georgian opposition and official Brussels refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections in the country in October 2024, which were won by the ruling party. Against this background, opposition rallies were regularly held in the capital, which often ended in clashes with the police. The European Commission threatened Georgia with "consequences" for its efforts to stop the unrest. As a result, after the December presidential elections, President Salome Zurabishvili, the informal leader of the protests, left office and the opposition rallies died down.

Hungary, which even in the current circumstances maintains ties with Russia, can also be mentioned. As a result, Budapest is often targeted by the EU or individual representatives of European countries. The Hungarian leadership is accused of authoritarianism and human rights violations.