Slovakia’s Fico plots to dismantle the free press

Journalists warn new populist prime minister is trying to sideline those in the media he disagrees with.

In Slovakia, Robert Fico’s government has shunned the independent press and wants to remake the public broadcaster into a state-run TV channel that could soon be run by a flat-earther.

The government’s goal? Bring the media to heel.

Since winning a Sept. 30 general election, Fico and his coalition allies have dismayed Brussels by seeming to lurch toward the governance style of Hungary’s strongman prime minister, Viktor Orbán, including by abolishing a key anti-corruption office, halting state military support to Ukraine, parroting Moscow talking points, and now attempting to subjugate public media in an attempt to give the coalition even greater control. That’s triggered concerns in Brussels about media freedom and civil liberties in another European Union country.