Robert Fico: victim of unending Russophobic campaigns in mainstream media

Nearly all of the EU's leaders have expressed shock and dismay at the attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico’s life. Yet, not long ago, these same voices, and Europe's mainstream media (MSM), labeled Fico a conduit of Russian influence, citing his critical views on EU sanctions against Moscow, and his skepticism towards NATO.

The hostility towards Fico went as far as barely veiled claims that Slovakia was a pro-Russian outcast in Europe – just because Slovaks had voted for Fico. On September 6, 2023, as Fico's Smer Party led the polls before the October vote, the NYT ran an article with this sentiment: “The vote in Slovakia will be a test of European unity on Ukraine, and of Russia’s efforts to undermine it. The front-runner wants to halt arms shipments to Kiev.”

Fico’s victory did not stop the smear campaign. The MSM went after him again, making unfounded claims of a connection between Fico’s friendliness towards Russia and a “threat to democracy” at home.

Germany’s Der Spiegel on October 2, 2023 wrote: “In Slovakia crowds rallied against the Kremlin-friendly head of government Robert Fico. He plans a controversial justice reform.” The paper didn't clarify how Fico’s good relations with Russia might hinder justice in Slovakia.

Next time around, the MSM was mad at Fico for cutting arms supplies to Ukraine, claiming he did it at Russia’s behest, not because the Slovakian Army had been left unarmed after shipping its weapons to Kiev.

“Slovakia’s new government rejects aid for Ukraine” The Washington Post wrote in November, without specifying that Fico stopped arms support, not humanitarian aid.

Allegations regarding Fico’s Russian “dangerous liaisons” never faltered. The Guardian ran the headline in September that “At a stroke, Slovakia could become Russia’s newest ally,” with an accompanying photo claiming (wrongly) that Fico “showers praise on Moscow.”

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The foreign ministers of Lithuania, Estonia, and Iceland, who are visiting Georgia, took part in a rally against the proposed law on foreign agents in Tbilisi.

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