Robert Fico published a defiant video blaming the opposition for his shooting. In other developments: a former Polish energy chief in hiding, an unremarkable Czech pre-election debate, and EU calls for increased pressure on Hungary’s rule of law failings.
Three weeks after he was shot multiple times in Handlova, a town in western Slovakia, Prime Minister and Smer party leader Robert Fico appeared in a video posted to his Facebook page on June 5. Coming three days before the European elections, it was his first appearance since the shooting incident.
Apart from noting that Fico had lost weight, commentators did not notice any change in his political thinking. In the video, which has English subtitles, Fico said that he would not take any legal action against the attacker, Juraj Cintula, but alleged he was “an activist of the Slovak opposition” and a “messenger of evil and political hatred”.
Fico also repeated his allegation that the opposition and the critical media, which he calls “anti-government” and claims are financed by American philanthropist George Soros, were to blame for the attack on him.
He also slammed Western democracies for not being able to accept other opinions than their own. “The right to a different opinion has ceased to exist in the EU,” Fico said.
Although the video came out just a few days before the European Parliament elections, Fico did not explicitly call on voters to support his party, Smer, which polls suggest is on track to win the largest share of the vote, in part, as a result of the shock caused by the attempt made on the prime minister’s life.
Google-owned video-sharing platform YouTube has taken down a channel followed by 80,000 people in Slovakia, run by London-based Slovak extremist Daniel Bombic, also known as Danny Kollar.
Bombic is wanted by the Slovak authorities on charges of extremism, stalking, defamation and electronic harassment. He has been recorded performing a Nazi salute, and is a notorious figure on Slovakia’s disinformation scene and a conspiracy theorist who has been accused of verbally attacking female public figures and of sharing private information about people he dislikes.
Bombic had also used the channel to host his show featuring a number of government figures. Prime Minister Robert Fico, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok and others have appeared on his online programme, which is co-presented by another star of the disinformation scene, Judita Lassakova, a member of the ruling Smer party likely to be elected as an MEP during the weekend.
It is not clear why the video-sharing platform moved to take down the channel now – a decision that was slammed by Kalinak, who described Bombic as “just a blogger” sharing his private opinions. Bombic has moved his activities to X (formerly known as Twitter) and is also active on Telegram, where his account is followed by 63,000 users.
Training Ukrainians in Poland; Orlen’s ex-CEO hiding out in Budapest?
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorki announced that Poland was planning to train, on its own territory, a military unit made up of Ukrainians residing in Poland and who are being recruited to fight back home.
Sikorski made the announcement in response to questions about whether Poland would be ready to send training missions to Ukraine, or even deploy Polish soldiers to Ukraine.
“Poland considered the Ukrainian request regarding training, but we came to the conclusion that it would be safer and more efficient to train a Ukrainian unit composed of Ukrainians in Poland who are subject to conscription into the Ukrainian army,” Sikorski said.
About 1.5 million Ukrainians live in Poland, the figure including refugees as well as long-term residents. Among them are men targeted by the Ukrainian government for recruitment into the army in the future.
This spring, Ukraine suspended consular services for military-aged men residing abroad. Initially, the Polish government said it would support Ukraine in its effort to bring back these men to fight, without giving any specific details.
Meanwhile the former CEO of Polish oil giant Orlen, Daniel Obajtek, is suspected of hiding in Budapest, writes investigative news site VSquare.
A close ally of the former PiS (Law and Justice Party) government who oversaw Orlen’s purchase of much of Poland’s regional and local press, Obajtek has stayed out of sight since being dismissed shortly after the new liberal government came to power.
He is currently being sought by prosecutors who are investigating some of his decisions as head of Orlen and by a parliamentary investigative commission looking into the so-called visa scandal.
Obajtek has not been formally charged and has refused to show up for interrogations and commission hearings. Polish daily Wyborza Gazeta wrote that by staying abroad, Obajtek could avoid any charges before the European Parliament elections, in which he is standing as a PiS candidate, after which he might secure immunity.
VSquare journalists spotted a car very similar to Obajtek’s silver-grey Lexus outside a building of luxury apartments in downtown Budapest, owned by a company close to Viktor Orban’s government and the PM’s son-in-law.
The former executive’s social media accounts also show videos allegedly shot in a penthouse suite in the same building, and VSquare journalists spotted Orban aide David Hejj entering the same complex, although there is no evidence thta he visited Obajtek.
However, Orban’s government has previously given refuge to former allies facing legal proceedings: North Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski fled to Hungary in 2018, where he was granted asylum. In early 2024, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, facing charges at home, spent several days in the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia, revealed the New York Times.
Claiming it was natural “to stop somewhere” during the numerous business trips he takes, Obajtek told VSquare that he didn’t see any reason to have to justify himself and refused to confirm whether or not he was staying in Budapest.
Fiala-Babis EU election showdown; Czech government plans sobering alcohol bill
In a two-hour-and-a-half televised pre-election debate that brought little substance to the table but many personal jabs, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala faced off against former PM and opposition leader Andrej Babis this week.
From illegal migration to the Green Deal, energy prices, EU institutions and the war in Ukraine, the leaders of the two strongest parties argued and bickered in a last-stretch attempt to mobilise their voters ahead of the European Parliament elections on June 7-8.
Babis’ ANO is still considered the favourite to win the ballot, but recent polls have seen his lead over Fiala’s SPOLU coalition narrow to a few percentage points. According to political pundits, Fiala appeared better prepared and more relaxed than his main opponent, who frequently resorted to personal attacks against the prime minister, whom he labelled “a liar and a fraud”.
In other news from the country, the Czech government is planning to introduce a series of measures to limit alcohol use, national anti-drug coordinator Jindrich Voboril announced during a press conference this week.
The strategy, which is still being drafted and could be presented by September or October, could include new restrictions on the sale and advertising of alcohol, as well as higher prices in a country long known as the beer-drinking capital of the world and where large parts of the population suffer from either addiction or are considered at-risk drinkers.
Harmful warning labels could be added to alcoholic drinks – as is already the case for tobacco products – and sales could be limited to certain places or time windows. Excise duties on beer, wine and other drinks might also be increased, and advertising of alcoholic beverages limited to after 10 pm.
In an interview with Seznam Zpravy, Voboril however cautioned that, with general elections scheduled for next year, “politicians are somewhat reluctant” to introduce measures that are bound not to be very popular.
The building authority in Prague’s 8th district ordered Kasarna Karlin, one of the city’s most popular cultural and social venues, to close down with immediate effect, citing improper use of its premises and building codes violations.
Open to the public since 2017, the community centre – a former military barracks not originally intended for cultural use – was acquired by the city of Prague a few months ago in an exchange with the state and has long been one of residents’ beloved social spots, hosting various bars and cafes, organising movie screenings, concerts, and many more cultural happenings throughout the year.
Local reports also suggest the venue’s fate was further sealed by the repeated and longstanding grievances of neighbours complaining about the noise. “We have been working tirelessly to ensure that all formal obligations are fulfilled on our part”, the centre said in a statement, expressing its regret at the decision which could mean a closure of “up to several months”.
Prague city councillors vowed to start negotiations with the building authority to allow for the reopening of Kasarna – a heritage site since the 1950s – as soon as possible in full compliance with the law. As soon as the ban was announced, Czech social media faced an outpouring of support and solidarity, and a petition has also been making the rounds among the centre’s most loyal base.
EU countries call to speed up Article 7 procedure against Hungary
Belgium and Austria are urging the European Council to press ahead with Article 7 censure proceedings against Hungary, as irritation grows in many EU member states over Budapest’s constant obstruction.
“I think we need to have the courage to make decisions: go to the end of Article 7, activate Article 7 to the end, which provides for the end of the veto”, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib told Politico this week.
With Belgium currently holding the EU presidency, the idea of introducing further sanctions against Viktor Orban’s government could be seen as more than just a proposal from one member state, and the idea has also found support in Austria.
“We expect all 27 members to fully respect the principles on which our common union is based,” an Austrian foreign ministry spokesman told Politico. He said that this was particularly true for the upcoming EU presidency. “In this sense, we support the rigorous continuation of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary,” the spokesman said.
Hungary is now the only country facing the Article 7 procedure, after proceedings against Poland were closed last month.
A spokesperson for the Hungarian Permanent Representation in Brussels appeared less concerned, however: “Hungary’s main concern now is to keep the EU out of the war in our neighbourhood. If the war reaches the EU, then Article 7 will be the least of our problems,” he told Politico.