Key points
- Fico is leader of leftist-nationalist government in Slovakia
- Fico has faced protests by people for what they see as a turn in foreign policy towards Russia
- Fico’s ally PM Orban of Hungary has said time has come to “eliminate these foreign networks”
ISLAMABAD: Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that the misuse of foreign funds for political interference is so serious that he is ready to meet Elon Musk personally.
According to Reuters, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico congratulated US President Donald Trump’s government efficiency adviser, Elon Musk, for aiming to dismantle the main US aid agency, saying its funds were used to “deform the political system” in Slovakia.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a top target of a government reduction overhaul spearheaded by billionaire and Trump ally Musk since the Republican president took office on January 20.
Leftist-nationalist
Fico, the leader of the leftist-nationalist government in Slovakia, has long waged a war of words against the pro-Western liberal opposition, non-governmental organisations and media in his country, accusing them of conspiring against Slovakia.
“It is indisputable that financial means originating in USAID were used in Slovakia also for political aims with the aim of deforming the political system and giving advantage to selected political parties,” Fico said in a letter to Musk posted on Facebook.
He did not give any evidence for this.
Fico asked Musk to provide information on grants to “non-governmental organisations, media and individual journalists active on the territory of the Slovak Republic” to find projects that he said interfered in Slovakia’s internal matters.
Backsliding on democracy
Fico has faced peaceful protests in recent weeks by tens of thousands of people across the central European country for what they see as backsliding on democracy and a turn in foreign policy towards Russia. He has accused organisers of the protests of planning to overthrow the government in a coup, without providing any evidence.
Fico’s letter followed comments by his ally and neighbour Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, who said on Friday he would take steps to ensure all aid funding coming from the United States to NGOs and media critical of the government is revealed, saying the time had come to “eliminate these foreign networks”.
The Roman Catholic Church’s worldwide charity arm sharply criticized Trump’s cuts to US foreign aid on Monday, saying his plans to end funding for USAID will have a “catastrophic” impact in the developing world.
