dpa
Bratislava
Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday accused foreign countries of meddling in Slovakia’s internal affairs and threatened to expel people from the country, a day after huge protests against his government.
"Our opposition members are only altar boys - someone else is celebrating the Mass,” said the populist left-wing politician on public broadcaster STVR. Fico directed his criticism at non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which he believes are supported by foreign financiers. He claimed there are "instructors” from abroad a working to undermine the state.
Fico, who survived an assassination attempt in May, threatened countermeasures: "It is the task of the intelligence services to compile a list of people to be expelled from the country.”
On Friday evening, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in almost 30 cities to demand Fico’s resignation. They accused Fico of being pro-Russia and putting Slovakia on an increasingly authoritarian path.
Fico accuses his opponents of spreading falsehoods about an alleged shift in Slovakia’s foreign policy toward Moscow in order to discredit his government. "This government will never take any steps that could cast doubt on our membership in the European Union and NATO,” he said.
But Fico has stopped supplying weapons from Slovakian military stocks to Ukraine and frequently criticizes EU sanctions. He believes the sanctions are hurting Slovakia, which is dependent on Russian gas and oil, more than Moscow.