"I'm afraid of war," Robert Fico told medical students at a teaching hospital in Presov last week. "What is happening in Europe today, what we're hearing and seeing today, is that the military conflict in Ukraine has got out of control," he went on, warning them that Europe faced the possibility of a wider war. He asked the students to imagine Slovakia being told to prepare "5,000 soldiers, 10,000 soldiers" who would go somewhere to fight "without us even knowing whom they are fighting, or why, or what for." Then he turned to Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty, under which an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
"I do not want Slovakia to be part of any military conflict because of some Article 5," Fico said. Cooperation and fulfilling our obligations matter to us. But as prime minister, I will do everything to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into a military conflict." The remarks prompted uproar from the Slovak opposition and also a spat with Petr Pavel, president of neighboring Czechia and former chairman of NATO's Military Committee.
"If anyone says they're glad to be a member of NATO … but are unwilling to get involved if anyone else is attacked, then they have not understood the word solidarity," Pavel said. Fico replied that he understood that Pavel, as a former NATO general, would like to fight, while he himself preferred peace. The Slovak prime minister's fear of a wider war is shared by many Europeans.
But critics at home gave his remarks short shrift. "Isn't he a prime minister? Isn't he the leader of a country?
Is he not supposed to lead people instead of expressing fears?" asked former Slovak Foreign Minister Miro Wlachovsky, now a distinguished fellow at the GLOBSEC think tank. "My question for him as prime minister is: OK, even if the situation is as bad as you are saying, what I want to hear from you is how the country is prepared. What have you done for preparedness?
Who will come to our aid in case we are attacked?" Wlachovsky told DW. Asked whether Fico's remarks could damage Slovakia's standing among its allies, Wlachovsky replied: "It's already done." Analysts see a clear political context to Fico's remarks. The Slovak prime minister will face a difficult reelection fight next year.
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