Monitor: Fico: Zero Probability of Early Election in 2025 (2)

(STVR, 'Sobotne dialogy', December 7) The probability of having early parliamentary election in Slovakia next year is zero, no matter how narrow the coalition's parliamentary majority is, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues). "All bills were passed, the 2025 state budget got passed. If you ask me about the probability of having early election in 2025, my answer is zero," claimed Fico. Once again, the Prime Minister rejected any notion of there being a parliamentary or government crisis. He pointed out that the Government passes all bills as planned, holds sessions even on Sundays, with all the important bills approved by Parliament successfully. An intervention would become necessary only if the governing majority were to lose its majority. Political talks would continue even then, although Fico underlined that he won't let anyone blackmail him. When asked about the fact that the post of House chair has been vacant since April due to an unresolved dispute between SNS and Voice-SD, Fico replied that this issue "absolutely doesn't interest" him and he won't "stir the pot" but expects the coalition partners to arrive at an agreement instead. The Prime Minister defended his decision to accept Russia's invitation to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow in May 2025. He stated that he won't ever forget who had played a pivotal and instrumental role in WW2 and believes that it's necessary to show respect and gratitude to "those who liberated former Czechoslovakia". Fico is not concerned even by a scenario of becoming the only European leader to participate in the celebrations in Moscow. As for expected 2025 developments in the war in Ukraine, Fico stated that Russia's military machine is winning, whereas Ukraine can't and won't ever win the conflict militarily. Fico believes that Russia will keep all the Ukrainian land it currently controls and that a "nice Munich" (deal) is being prepared for Ukraine, the one that Kiev is going to find quite painful [a reference to 1938 Munich Agreement, known in Slovakia as 'Munich Betrayal', in which the United Kingdom and France agreed that Czechoslovakia had to cede parts of its territory to Nazi Germany - ed.note]. With respect to the future of Europe, the Prime Minister forecasts a great instability to come. "Terrible times are ahead," said Fico, adding that 2025 will be an exceptionally difficult year. He emphasized that he's going to defend Slovakia's national interests the hard way, even at the cost of blocking some decisions at the EU level. mf