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Fico’s last public appearance was a meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on December 22, prompting questions over where he was.
Users of open-source intelligence geolocated him to the Capella Hanoi hotel in Vietnam, where he stayed in the luxurious Grand Opera Madam Butterfly suite, costing €5,470 per night, non-profit watchdog Slovak Media Monitor reported.
In response to questions posed by the Slovak newspaper SMS, the press department of Peter Pellegrini, the Slovak president, said that “the president had been informed about the length of the vacation and the prime minister’s place of residence.” The office, however, declined to provide details on the location.
Fico’s video address came after days of uncertainty, during which his only communication with the public came through cryptic videos on social media.
The videos, often filmed with drawn curtains and closed windows in the background, left viewers guessing about his location.
Despite media inquiries, no official explanation has been provided by the Slovak government or the hotel regarding the purpose of his stay, the Slovak Spectator reported.
In his video, Fico broke his silence with a video statement in which he threatened to end support for Ukrainian refugees. He accused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “sabotage” after Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia.
In Bratislava, the Slovak capital, crowds gathered on Friday in protest at Fico’s policies, in particular at his meeting with the Russian president.
The demonstration was organized by the Peace for Ukraine activist group, which argues that Fico’s Moscow trip undermined Slovakia’s standing in the European Union.
The Putin meeting and his secretive holiday in an expensive hotel could also add to the political uncertainty surrounding the future of Fico’s coalition government. It was hit last year by a number of defections that reduced its parliamentary majority to one.
This has prompted speculation that the government might collapse, forcing the country into holding early elections.
