preložiť Fico should consider leaving. His policies are driving people out of Slovakia, mental health experts say in letter
More than a hundred psychiatrists and psychologists are calling on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to consider changing his behaviour and leaving politics.
In an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the experts expressed concern about the threat to democracy in Slovakia, accusing the Prime Minister of spreading conspiracy theories and lies. Denník N drew attention to this.
The authors of the letter, professors Jozef Hašto and Anton Heretik, warn in a statement of Fico's aggression and emotional explosiveness, which, according to the experts, has worsened after the May assassination.
Prime Minister's behaviour frustrates citizens
Psychiatrists have also pointed out that Fico's political behaviour contributes to the frustration and dissatisfaction of a large part of the population.
More and more people are considering leaving Slovakia, not only for work or study reasons, but also because of the tense atmosphere that prevails in the country. According to experts, this is linked to the politics, which is characterised by contempt, ridicule and aggressiveness towards opponents.
The Slovak Chamber of Psychologists has also joined a similar call, warning in a letter of the dangerous normalisation of violence in politics.
According to the chamber, politicians who endorse or tolerate violent behaviour send a signal that such behaviour is acceptable in society, which can have serious consequences for the morale and stability of the country.
Open letter to the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico
Dear Prime Minister, we are writing to you in an open letter as citizens and professionals in the field of psychiatry and psychology.
The threat to democracy in Slovakia and to the international standing of our state leads us to comment on your political behaviour and public speaking. We would like to stress in advance that we do not wish to evaluate your personality and will only focus on your behaviour from publicly available sources.
Your political behaviour is increasingly characterised by a power-authoritarian style, manipulation of facts, lying, name-calling and attacks on political opponents, journalists and ordinary citizens who express disagreement with your policies. You do not shy away from attacking the families of opposition representatives, as was the case with the Šimeček family.
You speak disparagingly of young people who oppose your policies, you make derisive comments about a young man's complexion, you send a remote 'educational slap' to a student who refused to shake the hand of a political representative whom he does not respect. It was you who, at political rallies with your party members, encouraged the crowd to vulgarly label the then president.
Your political behaviour and proclaimed positions are polarising society and affecting the emotional atmosphere within it. They lead to the frustration and dissatisfaction of a large part of the population of Slovakia. More and more people are considering leaving the country, not only for work or study reasons, but also for personal reasons. They do not want to live in a country where state policy is characterised by such a level of contempt, ridicule and belligerence.
Your national policy is mainly aimed at strengthening your power, your party and your coalition partners. In a country that is so far behind in building infrastructure. In a country where the state of education and health care is poor, areas in which we have worked professionally all our lives, but which are not worthy of being considered 'prime ministerial issues' by you. You support people who spread conspiracies, slander and lies and devastate our culture.
We are even more appalled by your foreign policy initiatives, which are often in direct contradiction to the policies of the EU and NATO, of which Slovakia is a member. In Russia's war against Ukraine, you are unclear as to who is the brutal aggressor and who is the defending victim.
You speak disparagingly of the democratically elected President of Ukraine, which has been waging an unequal war against the occupiers for three years now. You do not hesitate to travel to Moscow and shake the hand of the Russian President, who bears political and moral responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Not only soldiers, but also civilians, including children, and their abduction. Russia is devastating the country's infrastructure, attacking civilian homes, schools, hospitals and theatres. You are encouraging your fellow party members and coalition partners to take similarly accommodating steps towards Russian imperialism.
The aggressiveness and emotional explosiveness in your public speaking seems to have increased after your assassination. We unequivocally condemn this act as a manifestation of political violence. You have undoubtedly experienced life-threatening stress, which may also have an impact on your future functioning.
We assume, Mr Prime Minister, that you are aware that this is not the first letter from mental health professionals to the Prime Minister of the country. On 12 May 1998, the vast majority of the participants in the Slovak Psychiatric Convention in Košice signed a letter to Vladimír Mečiar. Many of the objections to his policies contained in the letter concerned similar themes, in particular the threat to democracy and the country's inclusion in European and transatlantic structures.
In the current political situation, we do not want to wait for another psychiatric convention to take place. We are also sending our open letter to the leadership of the Slovak Psychiatric Society, the Slovak Medical Society and the Slovak Chamber of Psychologists. We ask them to publish it on their websites and to allow their members to comment on its content and, if they agree, to join in its wording.
We hope for your capacity for self-reflection and the possibility of correcting your political behaviour, including consideration of leaving top politics.
prof. MUDr. Jozef Hašto, PhD.
prof. PhDr. Anton Heretik, PhD.
P. S.: The authors of the letter declare that they are not and have never been members of a political party or movement.
The signatories of the open letter:
1. MUDr. Mária Bachurová, Ružomberok
2. MUDr. Pavol Balasič, Svidník
3. PhDr. Lygia Bátovská, Bratislava
4. MUDr. Soňa Belanská, Bratislava
5. MUDr. Klára Belej Lošonciová, Košice
6. Mgr. Petra Brandoburová, Bratislava
7. MUDr. Bianka Branišová, Trnava
8. MUDr. Peter Breier, Bratislava
9. MUDr. Erik Brhlovič, Bratislava
10. MUDr. Ivana Bučková, Košice
11. Mgr. Katarína Cenková, Žilina
12. MUDr. Pavol Černák, PhD., Bratislava
13. Miroslav Čerňan, M.D.
14. MUDr. Natália Čemová, Ružomberok
15. MUDr. Jana Diril, Žilina
16. MUDr. Barbora Ditte, Staré Mesto
17. MUDr. Iveta Durmisová, Žilina
18. MUDr. Ján Dúžek, Banská Štiavnica
19. MUDr. Ľubica Ferenčáková, Košice
20. MUDr. Peter Gábriš, Žilina
21. Eduard Gemza, M.D., Zvolen/Banská Štiavnica
22. MUDr. Adela Gombalová, Budča
23. MUDr. Martina Hanzelová, Žilina
24. MUDr. Mária Haštová, Trenčín
25. prof. Mgr. Anton Heretik, PhD., Bratislava
26. MUDr. Andrea Heretiková Marsalová, Bratislava
27. Mgr. Barbora Hreusová, Žilina
28. MUDr. Vitaliia Hubal, Košice
29. MUDr. Miron Hvizdoš, Prešov
30. MUDr. Ruslana Hvizdošová, Prešov
31. Volodymyr Cherevychnyi, M.D., Žilina
32. MUDr. Mykhailo Ilnytski, Žilina
33. MUDr. Artúr Ivančík, Šahy
34. MUDr. Kamila Ivanová, MPH, Trnava
35. Mgr. Mária Jančinová, PhD., Bratislava
36. MUDr. Peter Janík, PhD, Bratislava
37. MUDr. Eva Janíková, Bratislava
38. MUDr. Viera Jenčová, Stará Ľubovňa
39. PhDr. Ľudovít Juráš, CSc., Pezinok
40. PhDr. Miloslava Jurášová, Pezinok
41. Mgr. Eva Kapšová, Kremnica
42. MUDr. Natália Kaščáková, PhD., Bratislava
43. PhDr. Eva Klimová, Bratislava
44. MUDr. Juraj Knížat, Topoľčany
45. MUDr. Mária Končalová, Žilina
46. Mgr. Zuzana Končalová, Žilina
47. Mgr. Barbara Korbeľová, Bratislava
48. MUDr. Linda Korčeková, Žilina
49. MUDr. Zuzana Koóš Kašparová, Predná Hora
50. MUDr. Zuzana Krautschneiderová, Nitra
51. MUDr. Kucharová Lenka, Žilina
52. MUDr. Naďa Kuriačková, Levice
53. PhDr. Olga Lacková, Beckov
54. Mgr. Lenka Macejáková, Zvolen
55. MUDr. Nike Makarova, Snina
56. PhDr. Mária Marková, Bratislava
57. MUDr. Monika Markovová, Ružomberok
58. Mgr. Ondrej Mako, Žilina
59. MUDr. Ivana Miklušicová, Sučany
60. MUDr. Branislav Mot'ovsky, PhD., Trenčín
61. Mgr. Ľubomíra Mrázová, Žilina
62. MUDr. Ivana Nákačková, Ružomberok
63. MUDr. Magdaléna Niemcová, Trenčín
64. Mgr. Radka Nguyen, Žilina
65. Mgr. Stanislava Nociarová, Zvolen
66. MUDr. Petra Nosáľová, Bratislava
67. Mgr. Ľudovít Novota, Banská Bystrica
68. Mgr. Kristína Novotová, M.A., Banská Bystrica
69. Mgr. Iveta Országhová, Žilina
70. Renata Papšová, M.D., Bratislava
71. MUDr. Daniela Pavlíková, Levice
72. Mgr. Lenka Pavúková Rušarová
73. Mgr. Bohumila Piňáková, Žilina
74. MUDr. Ondrej Potančok, Sučany
75. MUDr. Zuzana Potočárová, Bratislava
76. MUDr. Martina Pöthe, Žilina
77. MUDr. Peter Pöthe, Prague
78. MUDr. Daniel Ralaus, Trenčín
79. Mgr. Monika Reitšpís, Žilina
80. MUDr. Monika Rosivalová, Žilina
81. MUDr. Róbert Ruttkay, Predná Hora
82. Mgr. Lenka Sarnecká, Žiar nad Hronom
83. MUDr. Zuzana Sekelská, Košice
84. Mgr. Ivana Senkova, Žilina
85. MUDr. Abdul Mohammad Shinwari, Rimavská Sobota
86. MUDr. Katarína Sidorová, Žilina
87. Mudr. Adriena Smieškova, Košice
88. MUDr. Mario Straka, Galanta
89. Mgr. Viktor Svetský, PhD., Bratislava
90. Mgr. Hana Ševčíková, Chorvátsky Grob
91. MUDr. Andrea Ševčíková, Trenčín
92. MUDr. Marcela Šoltýsová, PhD., Zvolen
93. MUDr. Dagmar Štrocholcová, Kysucké Nové Mesto
94. Mgr. Oľga Šupalová, Liptovský Hrádok
95. Mgr. Lucia Šútorová, Žilina
96. PhDr. Olga Švančarová, Nová Dubnica
97. Mgr. Slávka Takáčová, Bratislava
98. MUDr. Silvia Trnovcová, Pezinok
99. MUDr. Zdenka Trokanová, MPH, Veľké Zálužie
100. MUDr. Maroš Uhrin, Galanta
101. MUDr. Vladimír Velický, Banská Bystrica
102. MUDr. Margaréta Velická, Banská Bystrica
103. MUDr. Janka Vránová, Bratislava
104. MUDr. Beáta Vranová Gašparová, Zvolen
105. MUDr. Simona Závodná, Žilina
See the report on Fico's trip to Moscow on 10 January 2025: