Slovak Crisis Deepens as Premier Fights Push for Snap Ballot

(Bloomberg) -- Slovakia's political turmoil worsened as the premier rebuffed a call from the country's president to hold early elections as a way out a crisis that erupted when the murder of a journalist sparked public protests.

The conflict increases pressure on Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders who has taken Slovakia into the euro zone but has failed to convince the public of his commitment to fighting graft. It also highlights the volatile nature of politics in central Europe, where Poland is locked in a dispute with the European Union over the rule of law and Hungary is trying to build an illiberal state modeled on Turkey and Russia.

Following one of the largest Slovak demonstrations since the 1989 fall of communism, President Andrej Kiska made a rare political appeal to call for major changes in the government or early elections. Fico rejected the demands and on Monday linked Kiska and billionaire philanthropist George Soros to what he called efforts to destabilize the nation of 5.4 million.

“It's clear that Fico will not budge, he will go into confrontation not only with the opposition but also with the civic society,” said Michal Vasecka, a sociologist at the Bratislava Policy Institute think-tank. “Slovakia is rapidly moving toward what we can see in Hungary or Poland.”

The reporter's murder has rattled Fico's third government, which has sought to distance itself from euroskeptic sentiment spreading in the EU's eastern wing but has also faced public discontent over corruption. Last week, tens of thousands of people marched in cities across Slovakia, protesting against graft and demanding a thorough investigation of the killing of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee.

Read more about political fallout from the journalist's murder

Fico has rejected calls by the protesters and his junior coalition partner, the Most-Hid party, to fire Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, one of the premier's closest allies. Kalinak is in charge of law enforcement and media have reported about his past business connections to an entrepreneur who confessed to tax fraud. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

“The distrust toward the state is enormous,” said President Kiska, who doesn't hold executive powers and beat Fico in 2014 to win the post.

The prime minister has for years lashed out at media for what he said were unsubstantiated reports of opaque deals linked to politicians. While he has presented the fight against corruption as a priority, no senior active politician has been convicted of graft. He said on Monday the president is supporting the opposition's efforts to overthrow the government and asked him to explain why he met Soros.

‘Total Destabilization'

“What's happened after the murder of the journalist and his girlfriend suggests that there is an attempt at total destabilization in this country,” Fico said in a televised speech. “I would very much welcome a clear explanation from the president what it was about, what was the purpose” of his meeting with the financier who funds organizations that seek to promote human rights and government transparency.

The comments resembled statements by Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who has spurned checks and balances on his power and regularly blames Soros for trying to undermine him.

Investors have so far largely ignored the Slovak political turmoil, with the yield on the state bonds maturing in 2031 dropping one basis points to 1.32 percent as of 2:38 p.m.

While Fico's Smer is the most popular political force, it now rules in a coalition that has a slim majority by holding 78 votes in the 150-seat parliament. The survival of the administration may depend on the decision of Most-Hid's lawmakers, some of whom have already criticized Fico's handling of the crisis.

“I am convinced that several deputies of Most-Hid won't play Fico's game and will leave,” Vasecka, the sociologist at Policy Institute, said. “The government may lose its majority in parliament very soon.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Vienna at rtomek@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Peter Laca, Paul Abelsky

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.