Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is an immensely divisive figure who has helped polarise his country. But Wednesday’s assassination attempt has rightly united figures from across the political spectrum and the world in condemnation. The shooting was not only an attack on the prime minister but, as his domestic opponents stressed, an attack on democracy itself.
The background and motivation of this attack are not yet fully known. Ministers have suggested that the suspect now in custody was a “lone wolf” who disagreed with the government’s justice and media policies. But the case is widely seen as a shocking manifestation of the deep ruptures in Slovakian society. “What happened yesterday was an individual act. But the tense atmosphere of hatred was our collective work,” warned the outgoing president, Zuzana Čaputová – an opponent of Mr Fico who is stepping down after herself receiving death threats. It will also fuel concerns about extremism and attacks on politicians elsewhere in the continent.
