Robert Fico is objectively considered one of th̬e most important political actors in Slovakia in the era of the independent state. After the 2023 parliamentary elections, he became prime minister for the fourth time. In total, he has served in this position for more than ten years, which no other politician has managed to do. The success of his political career is also demonstrated by the fact that he has been able to win five parliamentary elections with the SMER party. He failed to form a government only in 2010, despite his victory. Robert Fico is a symbol of not only success but also the polarization of society and its division into two opposing blocs. The primary objective of this chapter is to evaluate Robert Fico’s political performance in terms of identifying elements of populism. Starting from the theoretical definition of populism, we define specific points when Robert Fico used this tool to maximize electoral gains. Considering the focus of our contribution, it is necessary to present the main milestones of the first phase of his political career, which is determined by the timeline from his entry into politics to his first appointment as Prime Minister in 2006. During this period, we focus on the political-ideological aspects of Robert Fico’s performance. On the one hand, we are based on the political parties’ platform in which Robert Fico was included, on the other hand, we refer to his direct statements. Therefore, we identify several ideological transformations, which are directly related to elements of populism. We then assess Robert Fico’s performance as prime minister during his various terms in office and how the nature of the instruments of populism used changed. At the same time, we have also treated the issue of the assassination of Robert Fico, which we understand as the result of a long-term process of polarization of society. In this context, we identify and analyse the statements of individual politicians that deepened this division on both sides of the political spectrum.