Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10BRATISLAVA80
2010-02-25 15:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bratislava
Cable title:
SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER FICO ADVANCES H1N1 CONSPIRACY THEORY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000080
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CE J. MOORE AND M. LIBBY
STATE FOR OES/IHB
STATE FOR CA/OCS R. DOWELL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2020
TAGS: PGOV SOCI KFLU CASC LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER FICO ADVANCES H1N1 CONSPIRACY THEORY
REF: A. 09 BRATISLAVA 475
B. 09 BRATISLAVA 494
CLASSIFIED BY: Keith Eddins, Charge d'Affaires, a.i..
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000080
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CE J. MOORE AND M. LIBBY
STATE FOR OES/IHB
STATE FOR CA/OCS R. DOWELL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2020
TAGS: PGOV SOCI KFLU CASC LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER FICO ADVANCES H1N1 CONSPIRACY THEORY
REF: A. 09 BRATISLAVA 475
B. 09 BRATISLAVA 494
CLASSIFIED BY: Keith Eddins, Charge d'Affaires, a.i..
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Calling the H1N1 influenza pandemic a "game of
pharmaceutical companies," Prime Minister Robert Fico declared
this week that he "doesn't believe in swine flu" and will not
get vaccinated. This is just the latest in a series of
occasionally paranoid conspiracy theories asserted by Fico in
the last few months--he has previously alleged a conspiracy by
Slovak media organizations against him, suggested that the
financial crisis may have been intentional, and even expressed
fear that he might be assassinated for knowing too much about
the murky financing of opposition political party SDKU.
2. (U) Even though the H1N1 outbreak has largely subsided in
Slovakia, it remains in the news as the bulk of the 1 million
vaccines purchased by the government last fall have only
recently started to arrive. Perhaps due to a sense that the
worst has passed, Slovaks appear to have little interest in the
vaccines--the government estimates that only six percent of
health workers and one percent of pregnant women have been
vaccinated despite strong encouragement by the Ministry of
Health. Fico's widely reported comments will presumably do
little to increase the number of Slovaks seeking to be
vaccinated; Minister of Health Richard Rasi weakly responded
that he looks forward to trying to convince Fico that his theory
is "not entirely correct."
3. (U) The Slovak government reported six new confirmed H1N1
cases last week, bringing the overall total to 1192, including
51 deaths. (NOTE: this figure only includes
laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1; it is widely believed that
the number of unreported cases runs in the tens of thousands.
END NOTE.)
COMMENT
4. (C) Setting aside Fico's apparent taste for conspiracy
theories, his comments seem intended to distract from the
ongoing scandal surrounding the government's purchase of H1N1
vaccines. The protracted procurement negotiations lasted more
than three months during the height of the outbreak, and
questions were raised almost immediately about a lack of
transparency and seemingly inflated price paid for the vaccines.
Darina Sedlakova, the WHO Director for Slovakia, told us at the
time that the procurement process was "highly irregular."
EDDINS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CE J. MOORE AND M. LIBBY
STATE FOR OES/IHB
STATE FOR CA/OCS R. DOWELL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2020
TAGS: PGOV SOCI KFLU CASC LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER FICO ADVANCES H1N1 CONSPIRACY THEORY
REF: A. 09 BRATISLAVA 475
B. 09 BRATISLAVA 494
CLASSIFIED BY: Keith Eddins, Charge d'Affaires, a.i..
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Calling the H1N1 influenza pandemic a "game of
pharmaceutical companies," Prime Minister Robert Fico declared
this week that he "doesn't believe in swine flu" and will not
get vaccinated. This is just the latest in a series of
occasionally paranoid conspiracy theories asserted by Fico in
the last few months--he has previously alleged a conspiracy by
Slovak media organizations against him, suggested that the
financial crisis may have been intentional, and even expressed
fear that he might be assassinated for knowing too much about
the murky financing of opposition political party SDKU.
2. (U) Even though the H1N1 outbreak has largely subsided in
Slovakia, it remains in the news as the bulk of the 1 million
vaccines purchased by the government last fall have only
recently started to arrive. Perhaps due to a sense that the
worst has passed, Slovaks appear to have little interest in the
vaccines--the government estimates that only six percent of
health workers and one percent of pregnant women have been
vaccinated despite strong encouragement by the Ministry of
Health. Fico's widely reported comments will presumably do
little to increase the number of Slovaks seeking to be
vaccinated; Minister of Health Richard Rasi weakly responded
that he looks forward to trying to convince Fico that his theory
is "not entirely correct."
3. (U) The Slovak government reported six new confirmed H1N1
cases last week, bringing the overall total to 1192, including
51 deaths. (NOTE: this figure only includes
laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1; it is widely believed that
the number of unreported cases runs in the tens of thousands.
END NOTE.)
COMMENT
4. (C) Setting aside Fico's apparent taste for conspiracy
theories, his comments seem intended to distract from the
ongoing scandal surrounding the government's purchase of H1N1
vaccines. The protracted procurement negotiations lasted more
than three months during the height of the outbreak, and
questions were raised almost immediately about a lack of
transparency and seemingly inflated price paid for the vaccines.
Darina Sedlakova, the WHO Director for Slovakia, told us at the
time that the procurement process was "highly irregular."
EDDINS