“I’m not exaggerating” – Fico predicted violence against politicians in April

“They insult government politicians on the streets in obscene ways,” Fico said in the video, which was released on April 10, shortly after the Slovak presidential election. This frustration is “so intensely fueled” by newspapers and news portals such as “Dennik N”, “Sme” or “Aktuality.sk” that he is waiting for it “to culminate in the assassination of a leading government politician. And I am not exaggerating at all,” said the then head of government.

Attack on media and opposition
According to Fico, these and other media outlets encourage “progressive voters,” i.e., opposition supporters, to “be boisterous and aggressive.” And “as a warning,” the prime minister said, they “execute” publicly known figures who support government candidate Peter Pellegrini “simply because they dare to have a different opinion.”

The Slovak Prime Minister claimed that such a “warning” would be issued so that those who do not vote such as President Zuzana Čaputová, Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Šimečka, former Prime Minister Ludovit Odor or presidential candidate Ivan, who lost in April’s second round, vote , Korčok would vote if they knew what to expect.

“We are not fighting against the camp of other opinions, other solutions. We are fighting a dangerous camp of intolerant people,” Fico explained, emphasizing that unity among the governing parties is the best response to “anger, hatred and abnormality on fundamental issues of values ​​and ethics.”

Security expert: “This is a failure”
Former Slovak police chief Stefan Hamran on Thursday criticized security arrangements during Fico’s visit to Handlova in central Slovakia, where the prime minister was attacked by a gunman. Hamran referred to the April video: “If I’m not mistaken, Fico himself spoke a few weeks ago about the danger of someone shooting politicians,” he told the “Dennik N” newspaper. He wondered who analyzed this and assessed the risk situation. He also criticized the response after the shots were fired: “There was chaos there, that’s clear and that’s a failure.”

The former head of the Slovak Personal Protection Unit, Juraj Zabojnik, also criticized the behavior of the prime minister’s bodyguards. “If four or five shots can be fired, then it is someone’s fault, then the personal protection is probably not in order,” he told news channel TA3. He did not see that one of the bodyguards was standing in front of the head of government. He expects a harsh investigation into the incident because the crowd in front of the cultural center in Handlova was manageable. Corresponding investigations “for obstruction of the duties of a public official” had already started on Wednesday, an authority spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Anyway, a difficult situation
Fico was shot Wednesday afternoon as he shook hands with supporters after a cabinet meeting. Ex-police officer and security advisor Lumir Nemec told the Czech newspaper Blesk that this was in any case a very risky situation because anyone could have reached the barrier unchecked. “The guards only have a minimal amount of time to react – and once an error occurs, it can have fatal consequences,” Nemec said.

Risk assessment in Austria adjusted
The shooting of Robert Fico has also increased sensitivity in Austria. In principle, risk assessments are carried out on a daily basis and are adjusted accordingly, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), said on Thursday. In principle, such attacks can never be ruled out. The DSN has been warning for months about extremist, violent trends, Haijawi-Pirchner explains. Whether it concerns politicians or others, such attacks can ultimately never be ruled out. The DSN boss did not want to provide details about the risk assessments for those affected for security reasons.