How can a man who claims that “every normal person rejects violence,” even founding an anti-violence movement, one day resort to pulling out a gun and shooting the prime minister of his country? How can an individual who advocates for uniting people, maintaining peace, and restoring democracy commit such an undemocratic act? He shot the prime minister, he says, because he disagreed with his views.
“People seem to be going crazy,” he once stated in a video he posted eight years ago. And perhaps he, too, went crazy. No one has the right to take another’s life, no matter how much they disagree with the views expressed or promoted (if they are in a position to promote, as a leader is).
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico fell victim to the hatred he himself cultivated by exacerbating social divides and extreme polarisation in his country.
Starting from the left, he ended up on the far right. A former human rights lawyer, he represented his country at the European Court of Justice from 1994 to 2000, but as a politician, he characterised homosexuality as a perversion and expressed extreme positions against the Roma and Hungarians, stating that they “should raze Budapest with tanks.”
Until that is, Orbán rose to power in Hungary, and as ideological comrades, they became close friends, with tanks now being more useful against Ukraine.
Robert Fico has led Slovakia for the fourth time in the past few months. He was forced to resign in 2018 following the murder of a journalist and his partner, and he has been repeatedly accused of corruption. However, with the pandemic, he regained supporters and influence by heading protests against pandemic measures and vaccines. These demonstrations became increasingly chaotic and violent, with Fico inciting angry crowds.
In his six months in power, he abolished the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which had been established 20 years ago to investigate serious crimes, including the journalist’s murder, which had led to the termination of his previous term. Another “achievement” of his is the closure (in June) of the national radio and television station “for criticising government policy.”
No one can rejoice in the attempted assassination of a human being, let alone a prime minister. We can only worry.
Populist leaders, exploiting the times, foment hatred that divides societies. And citizens, steeped in this hatred, resort to arms.
We need to find our footing again in democracy.