English
Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, recently praised the Uzbek model of "efficient governance.” This is no joke. In the midst of an official visit to Tashkent, the leader from Bratislava saw fit to praise a system that operates without real opposition, without a free press, and without political pluralism. And he did so with the air of a man who brings to Europe a saving idea regarding economic development: let's look East.
"When you have 100 parties, you cannot compete economically effectively,” said Robert Fico, quoted by the website spectator.sme.sk, suggesting that democracy is, in essence, a burden. Moreover, the Slovak prime minister claims that a governing coalition made up of three or four parties slows down the efficiency of economic development. And by introducing the economic efficiency of China or Vietnam into the equation, the temptation is complete: to take the authoritarian model and wrap it in the promise of prosperity, according to the Prime Minister of Slovakia.
Unfortunately, Slovakia is not the only European state to flirt with such ideas. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has already offered the "recipe” for an "illiberal democracy,” with institutions loyal to the party, an obedient press, and an opposition that exists only for decoration. Orban no longer has to justify anything: the results are delivered by vote, and the mechanism is greased like a precision electoral machine.
In Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic has taken the political spectacle a step further: elections exist, but their meaning is nullified by the media monopoly, complete control over state powers, and a rhetoric that glorifies "national unity” against "Western chaos.” Serbia wants to join the European Union, but is moving toward Eurasia.
Austria, apparently more restrained, however, offers fertile ground for authoritarian populism. The nationalist discourse of right-wing parties is becoming the political norm, and the idea of "order” is gaining almost mystical weight. The trend is clear: doubt about democracy is beginning to be considered legitimate.
Turkey, on the other hand, no longer needs disguises. There, authoritarianism is already the rule of law in its perverted form. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has transformed the system into a personal regime, where voting is no longer a free act, but a periodic confirmation of power. There is no shortage of elections, but choice is.
In this landscape, Fico's voice is not singular, but part of an increasingly noisy chorus, which claims that democracy has failed, that freedom is a weakness and that the state needs a firm hand. It is old rhetoric, recycled in new packaging. Political chaos is invoked to demand discipline, the economy is invoked to demand obedience. "Efficiency" is spoken of as if this would justify any compromise.
But let us not deceive ourselves: behind the admiration for "alternative systems" lies a clear trend towards the concentration of power, the elimination of political dialogue, the silencing of critical voices. These are not errors of passage, but signs of a fundamental transformation.
Europe is at a crossroads. If the principles on which the European project was built - the rule of law, the separation of powers, freedom of the press - become optional, then the project itself becomes vulnerable. And it may be abandoned in favor of an authoritarianism that promises much and delivers little, but does so quietly, without scandal, without opposition, without democracy.
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