The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico he is in serious condition but not life-threatening in the hospital in the town of Banskà Bystrica, in the center of the country and 200 kilometers from the capital Bratislava. The politician was wounded yesterday with 5 gunshots from Juraj Cintula, a 71-year-old writer, and underwent a long surgery at the end of which he was placed in a medically induced coma. The next few hours will be decisive and the international community has expressed solidarity and closeness to the fifty-nine year old, but there is also another debate to take into consideration and it concerns the attacker. Cintula said he acted because “I don't agree with this government's policy“. In other words, he punished Fico for his Eurosceptic and anti-NATO as well as anti-Ukraine positions. And pay attention to the curriculum of the poet-criminal.
“Robo come here”, the words uttered by Cintula before shooting Fico. According to the Slovakian newspaper Marzika, the 71-year-old is known for being the founder of a literary club and the author of numerous collections. In his past there was also a period as a private security agent. The gun used in the attack was legally owned, as he was recently the victim of an armed attack in a shopping center in Levice. From the first information available, Cintula does not have any type of psychiatric disorder or pathology. But the spotlight is above all on the aforementioned activism: in 2005 he founded an organization for writers Literárny klub DÚHA, which later transformed into a civic association in 2008, while since 2015 he was a member of the Association of Slovak Writers. And we get to Slovak Progressive Partycertainly not a terrorist or revolutionary movement.
Despite not being an active member of Progresívne Slovensko – the leader Michal Simecka has categorically denied any link with the party – Fico's attacker would never have made a secret of his pro-EU and pro-Nato positions. As anticipated, Progresívne Slovensko cannot be accused of extremism: in the EU it is part ofMacronian liberal alliance Renew, which for Italy features Italia Viva by Matteo Renzi. And the question we ask ourselves is another: what would have happened if a right-wing militant had attacked a pro-European leader? Would the newspapers have talked about his passion for poetry or would they have churned out dozens of tirades about the return of fascism?
In recent hours we have witnessed some rather pathetic headlines. Fico was immediately branded as the Slovak Orban and cited above all for his positions against his comrades on the left, or rather the left that all journalists like. While for the aggressor it would be impossible to imagine a more lenient treatment. God forbid, the pillory is exclusive to certain press. But the little game of changing the sides of the aggressor and the attacked leaves us wondering. Let's imagine the calls in the square, the refrain of “Bella ciao”, the resistance. The pressure on the government to distance itself from extremism, the anti-fascism license, the instrumental nonsense to try to throw mud. A ridiculous, but sadly plausible, scenario.
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