`I was shocked to hear the information about the cowardly attack on Slovak Prime Minister Fico. Violence cannot exist in European politics,` German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said on May 15.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a European politician with a similar stance to Prime Minister Fico, also expressed anger about the `malicious attack on a friend`, while Russian President Vladimir Putin was on his way to
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission of the European Union (EU), condemned the assassination as a `vicious attack` that not only personally targeted Prime Minister Robert Fico but also threatened democratic institutions.
`These acts of violence cannot be tolerated by society, and cannot continue to undermine the democracy we cherish most. I wish the best for Prime Minister Fico and his family.`
US President Joe Biden called the failed assassination of Slovakia’s leader `a horrifying act of violence`.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was transferred to Banska Bystrica hospital by helicopter on May 15.
Prime Minister Fico was shot by the 71-year-old suspect on May 15, when leaving the Handlova House of Culture to shake hands with the crowd welcoming him.
According to Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, the investigation agency is suspecting that the attack was `politically motivated`.
President Zuzana Caputova and his successor, Peter Pellegrini, both condemned the assassination as an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy.
`If we choose to express our political stance with guns on the streets instead of votes, all the efforts to build Slovakia during 31 years of independence will be ruined,` Mr. Pellegrini commented.
European politics is facing a serious wave of violence targeting politicians, ahead of the election of delegates to the European Parliament in June. Germany, Spain and Ireland have recorded many attacks targeting
Renew, a centrist British political group in the European Parliament, expressed concern that `the increasingly serious polarization in regional politics is being fueled by both right-wing and left-wing extremist ideologies.`
`The severely divisive political climate is creating an environment that promotes the use of violence more frequently, driven by individuals who want to cause chaos and overwhelm their opponents instead of dialogue and debate,` Renew
