Slovak society is in shock after a 71-year-old man fired five shots at the prime minister, Robert Fico, while he was greeting a small crowd after a meeting.
Immediately, certain coalition government members attributed the opposition and the media for inciting animosity toward Fico, who has been enacting reforms that jeopardize media and judicial freedom.
Fortunately, Fico has survived; however, the repercussions of the attack will be severe. Many will be reminded of the repercussions of another murder by reporter Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová in February 2018. The sequence of events that would transform Fico into the politician he is today was initiated by this crime.
Fico was also the prime minister at that time. But due to the fact that the murder investigation was dangerously close to his political circles, he was forced to resign.
Zuzana Čaputová, a lawyer who wished to combat political corruption, elected to compete for the presidency amid a surge of public outrage. In March 2019, she made history as the first female president of Slovakia, much to the astonishment of all. In the second round of these elections, she emerged victorious over the candidate of Fico’s centre-left Smer party.
Fico was disgraced by his forced departure and Čaputová’s victory; however, he did not intend to abandon politics permanently. In 2020, his own party split into two, with his former ally Peter Pellegrini ruling the splinter party Hlas SD. However, he was not deterred.
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Fico is the most experienced figure in Slovak politics. He was appointed prime minister for the first time in 2006, and the current administration marks his fourth tenure in the position. Despite some reservations, he was not regarded as a politician who tended toward extremities until 2018. He was even the prime minister when Slovakia entered the euro in 2009.
Nevertheless, his radicalization intensified during his years of opposition. He became increasingly critical of the investigation into Kuciak’s murder, the western orientation of his nation, and, most importantly, Čaputová’s tenure as president.
Fico has been cautious to avoid alienating either the far left or the far right, despite the fact that it appears to have become apparent to him that he would lose support from moderate Slovaks due to his extreme views. He has a personal history of involvement in the communist party, but he has been cautious to avoid alienating the extreme right. This would effectively eliminate the potential for future coalition collaboration.
Fico appeals to extremists from both the right and left by drastically rejecting liberalism. He believes that the individuals who advocate for Ukraine’s support, NATO membership, and membership in the European Union are the true extremists.
An embattled president: Čaputová
In June of last year, Čaputová declared that she no longer had the energy to pursue a career in politics as a result of the threats and harassment she and her family had experienced. She elected not to seek a second term as president. However, the timing of her proclamation, which occurred several months prior to the parliamentary elections and a considerable amount of time prior to the presidential contest, seems to have been a strategic error.
Fico and Smer capitalized on the president’s vulnerability by winning the parliamentary election and establishing a new government coalition with the extremist Slovak National Party and Hlas SD, which was led by Pellegrini.
Despite the fact that Fico is currently hospitalized, Čaputová continues to hold office. She is currently in the process of transferring power to her successor, Peter Pellegrini, who was previously a member of Fico’s party. However, he does not assume the position until June. In the interim, Čaputová is required to urge for tranquility in Fico’s honor.
The Slovak society has been polarized to an unprecedented degree as a result of Fico’s election victory on an illiberal platform, his animosity toward the president with whom he was supposed to be working at the time of the attack, and the center-right’s failure to provide an alternative.
In an ironic twist, Fico was the individual who most accurately foretold the repercussions of all of this. In a speech published on Facebook this April, he cast himself as a victim and declared that he would not be surprised if the hatred towards him led to the murder of a government politician.
Although he has survived, Fico has nonetheless become a martyr to “liberal tyranny” for his supporters, despite the fact that everyone, including all of Fico’s detractors, has unequivocally condemned the attack.
The homicides of Kuciak and Kušnírová remain unsolved. It appears that the case of the thwarted assassination of the prime minister will be resolved more expeditiously and easily, as a man has already been charged.
Nevertheless, it is more probable that Slovakian discourse will be dominated by efforts to point the finger across the political divide for the foreseeable future. This will be achieved at the expense of a comprehensive examination of the factors that precipitated this crisis and the most effective strategies for preventing them in the future.
