Slovak PM blames shooting on opposition’s ‘hatred’
Three weeks following the shooting incident that left Robert Fico injured in central Slovakia, he has resurfaced in the political arena, just ahead of the European elections.
In a Facebook video filmed from his home in Bratislava, the Slovak prime minister attributed the attack to Slovakia’s liberal opposition, the “anti-government media,” and foreign-funded NGOs, accusing them of fostering a climate of animosity and intolerance conducive to such violence.
Despite sustaining critical injuries on May 15 from multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen, Mr. Fico expressed forgiveness towards his assailant, identified as 71-year-old Juraj C, and professed no personal animosity towards him. However, he labeled the attacker as an “activist of the Slovak opposition.”
Mr. Fico characterized the perpetrator, facing potential charges of attempted murder and representing what he described as “evil” and political enmity, as a product of the hostility cultivated by Slovakia’s “unsuccessful and frustrated” opposition.
Opposition parties, particularly the liberal Progressive Slovakia, engaged in a tight electoral race with Mr. Fico’s left-populist Smer party before the European Parliament elections, have condemned the shooting and vehemently denied any connections with the assailant.
Having served as prime minister for over 10 of the past 18 years, Mr. Fico returned to power last October at the helm of a populist-nationalist coalition. Slovakia’s political landscape has witnessed increasing polarization in recent months, further exacerbated by the attack.
Footage from a police station corridor shortly after the Handlova incident depicts the suspect, described as a poet and author, citing opposition to Mr. Fico’s policies, including the abolition of public broadcaster RTVS, as his motivation.
Additional videos show the individual participating in various anti-government protests. Nonetheless, earlier recordings show him addressing a gathering of a far-right Slovak paramilitary organization, leading to ongoing uncertainty regarding his ideological affiliations.
Mr Fico, appearing well and dressed in a crisp white and blue patterned shirt, said if all went well he would be able to return to work at the end of June.
He appealed to the “anti-government media” – especially those outlets he said were co-owned by companies linked to US philanthropist George Soros as well as foreign-funded NGOs and the opposition – not to downplay the reasons for the assassination attempt.
He had warned for months, he said, that the likelihood of an attack on a government official was “approaching certainty”.
The attack had taken place, he said, in an atmosphere where the opposition was exploiting the fact that the collective West was trying to force through a “single acceptable foreign policy”, notably on Ukraine, and riding roughshod over smaller nations that were trying to embark on a sovereign path of their own.
Mr. Fico opposes military aid to Kyiv and says Vladimir Putin has been “wrongly demonized” by the West.
The opposition’s “violent or hateful excesses” against a democratically-elected government had been met with silence by international organizations, he said, simply because opposition views were in line with the Western policy on Ukraine.
This was the atmosphere in which the assassination attempt had taken place, he said.
“I should be full of anger, hatred, and revenge,” Mr Fico said.
“[But] I would like to express my belief that all the pain I have gone through and am still going through will serve something good.”
