<
https://theconversation.com/robert-fico-why-the-attempted-assassination-of-slovakian-prime-minister-could-fuel-the-information-war-between-russia-and-europe-230249>
"The assassination attempt on Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico on May 15
has sent a shockwave through Europe. Unfortunately political assassinations are
not unheard of in this part of the world – indeed, Slovakia itself continues to
reverberate from the 2018 assassination of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak,
an act which led to the collapse of a previous Fico-led government.
However, attacks of this manner on politicians are rare (outside of post-Soviet
countries). There has not been an attack on a figure as high-level as Fico in
several decades. The suspect in the shooting has been arrested, but it remains
far too early to speculate about a possible motive. With that said, it is
virtually certain that this will have a massive impact on Slovak, and even
European Union, politics.
Even before the events of May 15, the political atmosphere in Slovakia has been
quite fraught. Fico and his Smer party have largely dominated the political
scene in the country since the 2000s. Before his current term, which began in
2023, he led the government from 2006 to 2010, and from 2012 to 2018.
Fico is ostensibly a centre-left politician. But in many ways his populist and
nationalist politics more closely resemble those of Viktor Orbán, the far-right
authoritarian prime minister of Hungary. Smer is a member of the Party of
European Socialists in the European Parliament but its membership was suspended
in late 2023 because of its rightward drift.
Notably (again alike Orbán), Fico is considered one of the most pro-Russian
political leaders in Europe. He ran his 2023 election campaign on a platform of
ending Slovakia’s financial and military support for Ukraine.
Russian media outlets have immediately seized on this to accuse Ukraine of
masterminding the assassination attempt against Fico. Margarita Simonyan, the
editor of
RT, claimed Ukraine “should be blamed” for the shooting.
Importantly, no evidence has currently been uncovered linking Ukraine to the
attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has personally condemned the attack and
expressed his hope for Fico’s recovery – and solidarity with the people of
Slovakia.
There are both domestic and regional implications in the wake of this attack.
For Slovakia, it is likely that tensions in the country will be ratcheted up.
Election campaigns have increasingly been fought in charged environments since
the first time Fico came to power in 2006 in a coalition with two illiberal and
nationalist parties, the Slovak National Party and the Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia.
This was particularly the case in the 2023 elections, where the alignment of
Slovakia on the Russia-Ukraine War was a principal concern. In a Eurobarometer
survey around that time, the war was rated as the most important issue facing
the country, but with nearly 50-50 splits in support for either providing or
opposing assistance to Ukraine.
This polarisation has already begun to play out in the way politicians – both
on the side of the government and in opposition – have responded to the
attempted assassination."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
