Fico Lambasts Media for Their Coverage of Corruption

Bratislava, December 11 (TASR) – Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has heaped criticism on the media over what he sees as their failure to cover a declaration by five foreign embassies to mark Saturday’s (December 9) International Day Against Corruption, TASR learnt on Monday.

Fico considers it to be scandalous that neither the media, nor the Opposition informed the public about the declaration. He demanded that the situation should be redressed immediately.

“Stop these monstrous double standards at last. When there’s positive news about the fight against corruption, a good evaluation that indicates that the Government has done an enormous amount of work, kindly tell the Slovak public this. People in Slovakia also have a right to good news, not just the bad news that you inundate us with from dawn until dusk,” Fico told the media.

The prime minister claimed that no matter what kind of decision the Government makes, it’s bound to be instantly attacked by the Opposition, with the media happily picking up on this and covering it “with love”.

According to Fico, the failure to inform the public about the given declaration meshes with the game that the media is allegedly playing against the Government, and it also constitutes an egregious violation of journalism ethics. He wants the media to rectify this.

Last week, the embassies of Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States praised the Slovak Government for its efforts in the fight against corruption and urged Fico’s Cabinet to continue measures aimed at supporting transparency and other reforms.