President: Fico Should Realise He's Prime Minister of Everyone, Not Own Voters

Bratislava, 17 November (TASR) – Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) should realise that he's the leader of the entire nation, and not just of his own voters, said President Peter Pellegrini on Monday at a briefing following a commemorative event marking the anniversary of the end of totalitarian rule in the erstwhile Czechoslovakia, known officially as the Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy. Pellegrini stressed that Fico should soften his tone and rely more on argumentation, adding that the prime minister's harsh rhetoric is contributing to rising tensions in society. The president also condemned Fico's statements describing 17 November as a pre-arranged communist coup. "I don't think that the hard style of politics that he's been pursuing in recent months is the right policy or the right type of politics that Slovakia needs. On the contrary, it seems to me that tensions in society are becoming even more polarised, and the prime minister must realise that he's not only the head of government for the few percent of voters of his own party; he's the prime minister of the Slovak Republic," underlined Pellegrini. Pellegrini added that he doesn't understand why Fico feels the need to provoke people by calling the Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy a communist coup. "It's as if he wanted to belittle all those students and young people who took to the streets; as if he wanted to tell them that their presence was actually pointless, because everything had been prepared in advance," he said. He added that he doesn't believe that the prime minister should be saying such things, pointing out that his statements contradict the testimonies of those who witnessed the revolution and established historical facts. "It's an attempt to attract attention, to say something that will spark discussion," said Pellegrini, adding that the heroes of the day in 1989 were the students and ordinary people. The president also criticised Parliament for not suspending the 17 November public holiday only on a temporary basis, as has been the case with other state holidays. mf/df