Michal Hvorecky, 49, is one of Slovakia’s most prominent authors and journalists and one of Central Europe’s most important voices in the fight against authoritarianism and right-wing extremism. His new book is called “Dissident” (Klett-Cotta-Verlag). Hvorecky, born in Bratislava, has been speaking and writing for years against the restructuring of the rule of law and the suppression of a free and colorful cultural and media scene in his home country. Robert Fico, who calls himself a social democrat, is prime minister there for the fourth time and governs together with the national-populist Slovak National Party (SNS). Hvorecky regularly appears as a speaker at the numerous protest events against the Fico government. In May he begins a reading tour through Germany.