Slovakian journalists and international watchdogs have expressed alarm after the new prime minister, Robert Fico, described leading media outlets as hostile and threatened to restrict their access.
Fico, who took over as Slovakia’s leader in October as part of a coalition government led by his populist Smer party, said this week that some of the country’s biggest outlets were not welcome in his office.
“I announced actions against enemy’s media – TV Markíza, Denník N, SME and the portal Aktuality,” he said, claiming that they “openly declare hatred and hostility against Smer and spread these trends with joy”.
“I decided that we will check their permission to enter and work in the government office,” the prime minister said, adding that “until the decision is made, they will be unwelcome guests at the government office”.
Fico previously served as prime minister from 2006 until 2010 and again between 2012 and 2018, resigning after the murder of Ján Kuciak, an investigative reporter at Aktuality, and his fiancee, Martina Kušnírová.
The killings, which sparked a political crisis, put a spotlight on press freedom in the region.
Now back in power, Fico has criticised the country’s public broadcaster and made clear his dislike for independent media outlets.
His comments have sparked concerns in Bratislava and abroad that Slovakia’s press freedoms are under attack – and that Fico could put the country on a path similar to that of neighbouring Hungary.
“Fico is waging a personal war with journalists and abusing the state for it,” said Peter Bárdy, the editor-in-chief of Aktuality.
While noting that it was still unclear whether Fico would actually ban media outlets from attending press conferences, Bárdy said on Wednesday: “If this happens, it will not allow us to confront them with the practical aspects of the politics they are doing.”
He added: “But what’s worse is that this is how they continue their disinformation campaign against select media, feeding the public the idea that they can’t trust us because we’re lying and hostile.”
Beata Balogová, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper SME, echoed some of these worries, writing on X: “If the European Union is serious about defending its own values, it should be more than concerned about the state of press freedom in Slovakia.”
Watchdogs have also expressed qualms about Fico’s rhetoric.
Pavol Szalai, the head of the EU and Balkans desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said: “By discriminating against certain media, Fico also discriminates against a part of the citizens; as a matter of fact, the audiences of the four targeted media represent a big group of citizens.
“RSF condemns the ruling parties’ verbal attacks, their attempts to restrict access to information and their questioning of the independence of the public broadcaster RTVS.”
Slovakia’s government did not respond to a request for comment.
The country’s progressive president, Zuzana Čaputová, defended press freedom. “The media is part of the bloodstream of democracy,” she wrote on social media.
“I refuse and cannot support the division of parts of society into more or less noble, friendly or hostile.”
But experts also say that Slovakia is still in a far stronger position than Hungary when it comes to its media scene.
Szalai said: “Thanks to its pluralistic, dynamic and economically sane media landscape benefiting from solid legal guarantees, press freedom in Slovakia is relatively strong.”
He noted that the country is ranked 17th on the watchdog’s World Press Freedom Index, compared with Hungary’s 72nd place.
Nevertheless, he called for vigilance.
“Fico must not hold back that progress or threaten the progress achieved in recent years,” he said. “We call on him to stop his hostile rhetoric and actions in the name of the right to information of all citizens.”
