Slovak authorities blame the media

BANSKÁ BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP).—Slovak authorities yesterday accused a person of attempting to assassinate populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Based on what they indicated, the suspect acted alone, in a politically motivated assault that reveals the intense polarization that has taken over the small Central European nation.

Fico, 59, was in severe however steady situation a day after being shot a number of occasions within the stomach, a hospital official stated.

President-elect Peter Pellegrini reported that he spoke with Fico within the hospital, however confirmed that his situation “stays very severe.”

The assault shook the nation and echoed throughout the continent, weeks earlier than the European elections.

As President Zuzana Caputova referred to as on everybody to take the chance to scale back the violence that has characterised the political debate, some authorities ministers criticized the Slovak media for fomenting political polarization.

Inside Minister Matus Sutaj Estok requested journalists to “replicate” on the best way they’ve coated Fico’s insurance policies.

He referred to the suspect, who was charged with tried premeditated homicide, as a “lone wolf” who doesn’t belong to any political group, though he reiterated that the assault itself was politically motivated.

Fico has been a divisive determine in Slovakia and past, however his return to energy final yr on a pro-Russian, anti-U.S. platform raised considerations amongst fellow EU members and NATO members that he would abandon his pro-Western path. nation, notably in Ukraine.

Originally of the Russian invasion, Slovakia was one of many international locations that the majority supported Ukraine, however Fico suspended the cargo of weapons to the neighboring nation when he got here to energy.

Fico’s authorities has additionally made efforts to reform public communications, an act that critics say would put the federal government in full management of public tv and radio.

This, coupled along with his plans to amend the legal code to remove a particular anti-corruption prosecutor, has opponents involved that Fico will lead Slovakia down a extra autocratic path.

Hundreds of individuals have repeatedly demonstrated within the capital and different components of Slovakia, a rustic of 5.4 million individuals, to protest Fico’s insurance policies.

Slovak police have given little details about the identification of the suspect.

Nevertheless, unconfirmed media reviews point out that he was a 71-year-old retiree, often known as an novice poet, and should have beforehand labored as a safety guard at a shopping mall within the southwest of the nation.

At a press convention yesterday after a gathering of Slovakia’s Safety Council, authorities ministers gave extra particulars in regards to the man, however with out giving his identify.

Estok stated the person himself cited his dissatisfaction with a number of of Fico’s insurance policies because the motivation for his assault.

The minister indicated that the presidential elections held within the spring motivated the assault, and that the suspect had attended a current anti-government protest.

Minister Particulars

Inside Minister Matus Sutaj Estok provided some particulars in regards to the attacker.

Political motivation

“I can verify to you that the rationale was politically motivated, the premeditated tried homicide is because the suspect himself says: the data from the media that he had at his disposal,” he stated.

Reflection

“I feel every of you’ll be able to replicate on the best way it was offered,” Sutaj Estok added.

Tensions

On the similar press convention, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák additionally blamed the media for tensions within the nation.