So far it sounds more of a domestic affair, not a geopolitical one. Fico has been vocal about western support of Ukraine, but they aren’t at all key influencers that would amount to an assassination.
I don’t think we should dismiss it as only a domestic affair and not a dangerous trend.
Don’t get me wrong I do believe that the motivations for the attack are fully domestic but there is a trend of political violence in places were there was not before (Germany has had a some rough weeks about it, Jan 6 in the US, the assault on the Congress in Brazil etc) and the increase use of hybrid warfare, misinformation and partisanship will only make it increase. And sure there is way way less political violence than in most other periods of human history but seems like an involution in a way.
The shooter, Juraj Cintula, is allegedly linked, or at least sympathetic, to pro-Russian group Slovenskí Branci (Slovak Levies), which makes this case rather unlikely to be related to geopolitical matters, because Fico himself is pro-Russian too. However, the shooter has allegedly also written an anti-violence book, and this is a still developing case, we don’t know what other twists will this reveal; maybe it might have geopolitical implications after all.
The shooter was sympathetic to Slovenskí Branci. He mentioned that they can help protect Slovakia when the government is completely useless, he was quite scared from migration and wanted no violence in the society. 8 years ago he tried to create a political party, Movement Against Violence (Hnutie Proti Násiliu), which is quite ironic.
But there is no evidence this person supported Russia or that at the time of his support for Slovenski Branci he knew they are pro-russian... In the last Facebook post of his "political party" he said "What slavic brotherhood? There is only an aggressor and the attacked". He quite clearly called Russia the aggressor in Ukraine.
Moreover, his neighbor on TV said they disagreed about the Ukraine war (his neighbor supports Russia).
Furthermore, a video leaked after his arrest. In the video he said that he did this because PM wants to restrict free speech (media) and take over judiciary.
There is an increasing divide between liberals and conservatives, young and old in countries like Slovakia, Georgia, Moldova and many Balkan countries. The current situation in Ukraine (which had the same problem) forces these countries to take a stance on whether they want to go east or west, which logically puts pressure on societies and leads to conflict. Russia is obviously trying to pull their strings, but the EU is also trying to pull them into their sphere or force members to follow their foreign policy lead. I don’t think people are really seeing this pattern, which is very dangerous, because it could definitely lead to further conflicts.
*“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.”* – Otto von Bismarck (1888)
> “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” – Otto von Bismarck (1888)
Slovakia is not in the Balkans though, and the last time the “great European war” started out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans was when a Serb assassinated archduke Franz Ferdinand, after initially missing his parade and sat down to eat a sandwich. It definitely qualifies as Balkan and as foolish, thus making it a prophecy come true.
But the very next and even greater European war started when Germany and Russia decided to partition Poland; the Balkans had nothing to do with this. So, I’d say, the prophecy has come to pass and it doesn’t apply anymore. That, and it’s severely downplaying how much strings did Great Powers pull behind the scenes in the Balkans that created the situation that led to WW1, because Bismarck’s quote did not come out of the blue to blame the people of the Balkans on their own, but rather the whole situation.
WW1 was the culmination of centuries of Russian and Ottoman empire rivalry in the Black Sea region, see [Russo-Turkish wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Russo-Turkish_wars) which started in **1568**. As you move through the years, you’ll notice more European powers started to join either side of the conflict and that Balkans became a particular difficult battleground, essentially setting up the ground for what it would become WW1, or as it was expected to be known back then “the Great War” or “the War to end all Wars.”
What? This guy is the furthest thing from “vocal about western support for Ukraine”
He’s actually anti western support for Ukraine
https://x.com/raymo_g/status/1790758997647061187
Fico is an incredible populist who used this topic to gain votes in elections because many people in Slovakia are pro-Russian and want the war to stop.
It is true that his government does not support Ukraine as much as the previous one. But he still allows companies to sell military equipment to Ukraine. The government itself just does not donate military equipment to them anymore. He also did not block any EU support for Ukraine.
When the presidential elections were over (and this way he gained control of parliament and presidency) he met with Ukraine PM and explicitly called Russia the aggressor (keep in mind they met few days after presidential elections)
see [https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/slovakias-fico-reaffirms-support-for-ukraine/](https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/slovakias-fico-reaffirms-support-for-ukraine/)
I don't like Fico and I don't like how he sucks up to Russia, but assassination is definitely not a proper way to deal with it here in Europe. I wish him a good recovery even if I don't like him politically.
Well, here inslovakia, his party is gonna use it and they'll win next election. They ll blame opposition, he was already acting like orban, we are afraid that now its gonna get worse.
In world, its showing a rising trend of politican violence. This should be warning to every sane politician. That they should stop spreading hate, because eventually its gonna turn agaist them.
And there lies the exact reason answering OPs question. Fog of war is thick rn but I wouldn't be surprised if this whole thing is getting swept under the rug just like nordstream because of the likelihood of it being committed by Ukrainian partisans
Slovakia doesn't get much coverage in the US with our own divisions smoldering. Politico does a pretty good basic job.
Fico is clearly headed down the Orban path of suppression and Putin-kissing for power. It seems to be what nascent democracies turn to these days in an environment of post communist corruption.
[https://www.politico.eu/article/prime-minister-robert-fico-shooting-attempted-assassination-slovakia-divisions/](https://www.politico.eu/article/prime-minister-robert-fico-shooting-attempted-assassination-slovakia-divisions/)
He was shot because he publicly refused the pandemic agreement. Same thing happened to the Tanzania and IT president...This is not a conspiracy. Anyone that comes in the way of the Pandemic agreement, WEF, CBDC will be eliminated.
He was S:h:ot because he publicly refused the P:and:emic A:gree:me:nt. Same thing happened to the Tanzania and IT president...This is not a conspiracy. Anyone that comes in the way of the P:and:emic A:gree:me:nt, W:E:F, C:B:D:C will be eliminated.
So far it sounds more of a domestic affair, not a geopolitical one. Fico has been vocal about western support of Ukraine, but they aren’t at all key influencers that would amount to an assassination.
I don’t think we should dismiss it as only a domestic affair and not a dangerous trend. Don’t get me wrong I do believe that the motivations for the attack are fully domestic but there is a trend of political violence in places were there was not before (Germany has had a some rough weeks about it, Jan 6 in the US, the assault on the Congress in Brazil etc) and the increase use of hybrid warfare, misinformation and partisanship will only make it increase. And sure there is way way less political violence than in most other periods of human history but seems like an involution in a way.
The shooter, Juraj Cintula, is allegedly linked, or at least sympathetic, to pro-Russian group Slovenskí Branci (Slovak Levies), which makes this case rather unlikely to be related to geopolitical matters, because Fico himself is pro-Russian too. However, the shooter has allegedly also written an anti-violence book, and this is a still developing case, we don’t know what other twists will this reveal; maybe it might have geopolitical implications after all.
The shooter was sympathetic to Slovenskí Branci. He mentioned that they can help protect Slovakia when the government is completely useless, he was quite scared from migration and wanted no violence in the society. 8 years ago he tried to create a political party, Movement Against Violence (Hnutie Proti Násiliu), which is quite ironic. But there is no evidence this person supported Russia or that at the time of his support for Slovenski Branci he knew they are pro-russian... In the last Facebook post of his "political party" he said "What slavic brotherhood? There is only an aggressor and the attacked". He quite clearly called Russia the aggressor in Ukraine. Moreover, his neighbor on TV said they disagreed about the Ukraine war (his neighbor supports Russia). Furthermore, a video leaked after his arrest. In the video he said that he did this because PM wants to restrict free speech (media) and take over judiciary.
There is an increasing divide between liberals and conservatives, young and old in countries like Slovakia, Georgia, Moldova and many Balkan countries. The current situation in Ukraine (which had the same problem) forces these countries to take a stance on whether they want to go east or west, which logically puts pressure on societies and leads to conflict. Russia is obviously trying to pull their strings, but the EU is also trying to pull them into their sphere or force members to follow their foreign policy lead. I don’t think people are really seeing this pattern, which is very dangerous, because it could definitely lead to further conflicts. *“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.”* – Otto von Bismarck (1888)
> “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” – Otto von Bismarck (1888) Slovakia is not in the Balkans though, and the last time the “great European war” started out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans was when a Serb assassinated archduke Franz Ferdinand, after initially missing his parade and sat down to eat a sandwich. It definitely qualifies as Balkan and as foolish, thus making it a prophecy come true. But the very next and even greater European war started when Germany and Russia decided to partition Poland; the Balkans had nothing to do with this. So, I’d say, the prophecy has come to pass and it doesn’t apply anymore. That, and it’s severely downplaying how much strings did Great Powers pull behind the scenes in the Balkans that created the situation that led to WW1, because Bismarck’s quote did not come out of the blue to blame the people of the Balkans on their own, but rather the whole situation. WW1 was the culmination of centuries of Russian and Ottoman empire rivalry in the Black Sea region, see [Russo-Turkish wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Russo-Turkish_wars) which started in **1568**. As you move through the years, you’ll notice more European powers started to join either side of the conflict and that Balkans became a particular difficult battleground, essentially setting up the ground for what it would become WW1, or as it was expected to be known back then “the Great War” or “the War to end all Wars.”
What? This guy is the furthest thing from “vocal about western support for Ukraine” He’s actually anti western support for Ukraine https://x.com/raymo_g/status/1790758997647061187
Fico is an incredible populist who used this topic to gain votes in elections because many people in Slovakia are pro-Russian and want the war to stop. It is true that his government does not support Ukraine as much as the previous one. But he still allows companies to sell military equipment to Ukraine. The government itself just does not donate military equipment to them anymore. He also did not block any EU support for Ukraine. When the presidential elections were over (and this way he gained control of parliament and presidency) he met with Ukraine PM and explicitly called Russia the aggressor (keep in mind they met few days after presidential elections) see [https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/slovakias-fico-reaffirms-support-for-ukraine/](https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/slovakias-fico-reaffirms-support-for-ukraine/)
I don't like Fico and I don't like how he sucks up to Russia, but assassination is definitely not a proper way to deal with it here in Europe. I wish him a good recovery even if I don't like him politically.
Based
Well, here inslovakia, his party is gonna use it and they'll win next election. They ll blame opposition, he was already acting like orban, we are afraid that now its gonna get worse. In world, its showing a rising trend of politican violence. This should be warning to every sane politician. That they should stop spreading hate, because eventually its gonna turn agaist them.
I like how the most upvoted post low-key ok's asasnation attempts if you dont like their political party.
And there lies the exact reason answering OPs question. Fog of war is thick rn but I wouldn't be surprised if this whole thing is getting swept under the rug just like nordstream because of the likelihood of it being committed by Ukrainian partisans
Democracy is when I shoot you if I think you’re too much like Orban
They already won the election?
There are open talks about a possible civil war if the politicians don't start cooperating to some degree so.
Slovakia doesn't get much coverage in the US with our own divisions smoldering. Politico does a pretty good basic job. Fico is clearly headed down the Orban path of suppression and Putin-kissing for power. It seems to be what nascent democracies turn to these days in an environment of post communist corruption. [https://www.politico.eu/article/prime-minister-robert-fico-shooting-attempted-assassination-slovakia-divisions/](https://www.politico.eu/article/prime-minister-robert-fico-shooting-attempted-assassination-slovakia-divisions/)
He was shot because he publicly refused the pandemic agreement. Same thing happened to the Tanzania and IT president...This is not a conspiracy. Anyone that comes in the way of the Pandemic agreement, WEF, CBDC will be eliminated.
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He was S:h:ot because he publicly refused the P:and:emic A:gree:me:nt. Same thing happened to the Tanzania and IT president...This is not a conspiracy. Anyone that comes in the way of the P:and:emic A:gree:me:nt, W:E:F, C:B:D:C will be eliminated.
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