Journalists in Slovakia fear the attempted assassination of the country’s prime minister, Robert Fico, could lead to even more polarisation and a crackdown on independent voices.
In the hours after Fico was shot on Wednesday, several senior politicians from the ruling coalition blamed independent media and the opposition for the incident.
“This is your fault,” Ľuboš Blaha, the deputy speaker of parliament from the ruling Smer party, told opposition politicians, before also blaming the media.
“Because of you [liberal media], the four-time prime minister Robert Fico, the most significant statesman in Slovakia’s modern history, is currently fighting for his life,” he said.
Andrej Danko, the leader of the Slovak National party (SNS) which forms part of the governing coalition also blamed media outlets and the opposition, and senior government ministers repeatedly criticised journalists’ coverage at a press conference on Thursday.
Media freedom has been the subject of extensive discussion in Slovakia over the past weeks as Fico’s government moved a controversial proposal forward to replace the public broadcaster RTVS.
Journalists feared that the prime minister, who has come under criticism for lashing out at independent media outlets and scrapping a special prosecutor’s office, was working to undermine media freedom.
Senior editors at leading Slovakian publications have also told the Guardian they are concerned about the impact of the shooting.
“I would like to think that politicians will act responsibly and calm the emotions, but based on the first public statements of some representatives of the ruling Smer party, I worry that they will continue to polarise the society,” said Beata Balogová, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper SME.
“Some of them already blame the media and its critical reporting as well as the opposition protests, which is a very dangerous road to walk.”
The aftermath of the assassination attempt “might bring brutal measures against the media, civil society and the opposition parties – which would be the opposite expected from the political elite right now,” she cautioned.
Peter Bárdy, the editor-in-chief of the news site Aktuality, said the ball was in the politicians’ court.
“They are the only ones who have the opportunity to dampen emotions in the country, to adjust their vocabulary, their attitude towards public affairs, towards the political struggle, and towards the media,” he said.
“I think that we are at a crossroads, similar to how it was after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee, and we are deciding which way to go,” Bárdy, who was Kuciak’s editor, said.
“I hope that this will not be another attack on the democratic principles of the state and on the freedoms of its citizens. Slovakia needs to calm the situation, not its further escalation.”
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Asked if he expected the situation for independent media outlets such as Aktuality to get worse, he said: “It’s possible.”
Asked about the impact of the shooting, Katarina Roth Neveďalová, a member of the European parliament representing Smer, said “people are gathering around the country to pray and sending good wishes”.
“What we see is a total shock of the general public and absolute rejection of this horrible assassination attempt,” she said, adding: “I hope that this assassination attempt taught us that all the politicians have to be more responsible in their speeches, activities and protests and can not call for harsh reactions.”
Slovakia’s government did not respond to a request for comment, pointing to a press conference.
“The bigger danger I think now is that this is going to keep escalating,” said Michal Ovádek, a lecturer at University College London.
Experts have also pointed out, however, that both the outgoing president, Zuzana Čaputová, and the president-elect, the Fico ally Peter Pellegrini, have called for calm, and that there are differing views within the ruling coalition, leaving questions about which path Slovakia’s government will take.
“Are they going to double down on the kind of hateful rhetoric that Blaha and Danko are known for, or are they actually going to reel back from that?” Ovádek said. “That’s the big question for the government.”