Slovakia with bated breath for Robert Fico. Yesterday the prime minister was the victim of an attack in Handlova, one hundred and fifty kilometers north-east of Bratislava, hit by five gunshots fired by the 71-year-old writer Juraj Cintula. The international community rallied around the leader of SMER – a social democratic party adhering to the S&D group in Brussels – but pay attention to the narrative of some newspapers. In the last few hours we have read headlines of all kinds, but the tendency to almost minimize the attacker's action is worrying: if Fico has mostly been branded as the Slovakian Orban, Cintula was told in an almost romantic way. From homicidal madman to killer poeta shameful trajectory.
A left-wing populist but associated with the right, Fico, according to some people, was asking for it a bit. His policies, his electoral campaign, his extremist tones. All this would have led Cintula to open fire. And in fact there are those who use rather strong terms to talk about the Slovak prime minister a few hours after the attack: there are those who emphasize the xenophobic languagethere are those who turn the spotlight on politics pro-Russianbut also those who highlight that he is a strongly political person divisive. There is talk of autocracy and intimidating laws, of opposition to sending weapons to Ukraine, up to the hypothesis of an even more draconian clampdown. In short, the tones that the left-wing press usually uses for the right. And in fact few, very few underline that Fico is a companion. No one has spoken of fascism for the moment, just as no one has openly justified Cintula. But the tone is not what common sense would like.
And be careful: we are talking about the same newspapers that every other day also talk about the return of Mussolini, of the far right, or rather of the extreme right, that the plural is more frightening. Who denigrate the government with hoaxes and fake news, forgetting the real threats that Italy and Europe face. Just think of the hatred of Islamic extremists and militants of the pro-European left, as highlighted by Salvini, recalling that the Fico attacker was linked to the Slovak party which is part of the Macronian Renew family. “It is legitimate to imagine very different terms and tones if the man had been of another political extraction”, the more than acceptable consideration of the deputy prime minister. Imagine what would have happened if a right-wing militant had shot a red, strongly pro-European leader. The end of the world. The resistance. The headlines in Repubblica and La Stampa would be more melodramatic than usual. The Slovak drama should push practitioners of instrumental controversy to scale the tones, putting the mud aside. “It is useless to forget – adds Salvini – that Silvio Berlusconi was also hit in the square by political haters twice, fortunately without risking his life. No more lynchings”: we hope the message is clear, but doubting is absolutely understandable.
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