Fico’s government in Slovak government has only recently started its work, and discontent has already appeared against it. And it is expressed not only in posts on social networks, as it often happens, but has moved to a more active phase – real protests. What exactly does the Slovaks not like?
A mass phenomenon
First, the events unfolded in Bratislava, where citizens have already held three demonstrations in the last two weeks. The number of people is impressive: several thousand citizens took to the streets, so the situation is more than serious.
The reason was that the new government headed by Prime Minister Robert Fico was going to urgently make changes to the country’s criminal code. The part that most outraged the community concerns the intention to abolish the special prosecutor’s office, which used to investigate serious crimes.
Is it a green light for a bribery?
The actual trigger for public discontent is the fact that by mid-January, Fico’s government is going to abolish the special prosecutor’s office, which dealt at the legislative level with such serious crimes as:
– bribery;
– organized crime;
– extremism.
Now, similar cases will be transferred to regional prosecutor’s offices, which have not handled cases of this format for more than 20 years. Society is sure that it will be easier to manipulate and mitigate sentences at the local level, and specialists fully agree with this. It is also envisaged that the punishment for corrupt officials and persons who committed economic crimes will be significantly reduced. The citizens of Slovakia do not see any logical explanation for this.
A negative reaction to the upcoming changes followed from the European Union as well. The leaders noted that such proposals are a serious danger that undermines the rule of law. This opinion was voiced by EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders. He called on Fico’s government to abandon radical and unprovoked changes in this area.
Gaining momentum
Protests are rapidly spreading across the country and are no longer limited to the capital. Yes, more and more Slovaks participate in the riots every time. Residents of other cities and provinces joined the residents of Bratislava. Residents of Zilina (2,500 people), Nitra (2,000 people), and Kosice (1,500 people) came out for protests. These numbers are 2/3 higher than during the second demonstration. Eight cities in Slovakia have already announced their participation in the fourth wave of protests.
If the riots continue to scale, the authorities must choose how to respond to them: either change plans or resort to some methods of suppressing protests. Let’s see what scenario the Fico’s government implements.
