My simplified diagnosis of why the British economy isn’t growing: we’re producing far fewer goods that the world wants to buy.

It points to a problem with foreign demand that no government will find easy to fix — though some of it has to do with self-imposed constraints. (Anyone heard of Europe?)

The most radical idea for a reform of the UK immigration system might start with counting people who cross the border in a way that is reliable and useful rather than relying on the estimation techniques of statisticians.

(As a born Slovak, I feel a certain sense of duty to occasionally report on this to my international friends. But I find it somewhat bizarre that most European media are choosing not to cover these latest developments. Slovakia is usually mentioned only when it’s causing trouble in Brussels!)

All this is very bleak. But as today’s major protests all across the country show, the Slovak civil society is very vibrant and most Slovaks disagree with the direction of Fico’s govt and want him out of office. The next election is due in 2027, and Fico is now very much on the defensive. /Ends

The symbolism of today was all the more sharper because of Fico’s decision to abolish 17 Nov as a national holiday in remembrance of the Velvet Revolution. This was done as part of the govt’s fiscal consolidation package, but it’s no secret that Fico had never been a fan of the day. /6

It’s a statement of fact that, since Fico got back into office in 2023, he met Putin three times, most recently at a military parade in Beijing as the only EU head of government in attendance. /5

Fico’s chief of staff called the student “young Cintula”, comparing a teenager with sidewalk chalk to the man who shot the prime minister last May. Others from Fico’s govt made similar derogatory statements against the young man. /4

Days before this fiasco, Fico verbally attacked a 19-yr-old student, who wrote an anti-Fico protest message with chalk on a pavement in front of the school. The student was later questioned by police. This led to thousands of students writing chalk messages all across Slovakia criticising govt. /3

Just last week, Fico delivered a lecture to high-schoolers, some of whom wore black in protest during his speech. When asked about his pro-Russian views, Fico said to 18-yr-olds, “if you’re such heroes, go and fight in Ukraine”. Some brave pupils jingled their keys, like in 1989, and walked out. /2

In Czech and Slovak cinemas from this week, but it’ll also be available to stream online, I believe…

Spot the outlier and wonder why the British economy isn’t growing. Britain makes far less of what the world wants to buy, and the world wants much less of what Britain makes.

My theory of Central European politics: the pendulum will always swing between the liberal part of the society that seeks to approximate the West, and the nationalist, socially conservative part that thrives on fear. It’s part of the post-1989 social fabric – not a bug, but a feature of the society.

And succeed he did. This vote makes it virtually impossible for LGBT people in Slovakia to be treated as equals under the law and lead a decent life, while exposing a fractured opposition. That division bodes ill for any united front against Fico in the next election, two years from now. 4/4

Fico’s proposal passed not only with the votes of his populist-nationalist coalition but also the opposition Christian Democrats and two other MPs. This was his aim all along: to lure the Christian Democrats, expose the opposition as divided, and divert attention from the public finances fiasco. 3/4