Shot Slovak PM Robert Fico Forgives Gunman, Blames Liberal Media and George Soros For Stoking Hatred Against Populists

Prime Minister Robert Fico named George Soros in his condemnation of NGOs and liberal media that created the febrile environment leading to the attempt on his life last month in his first appearance since the gunman struck.

Populist leader and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has spoken for the first time since an attempt on his life on May 16th, which saw a man fire a handgun at point-blank range. Fico was injured in the gut, hip, arm, and leg and his small intestine was perforated five times, and was in critical condition when airlifted to hospital. Multiple statements from the Slovak government made clear he came close to death but a major surgery to save his life was successful.

With a “minor miracle” he could slowly start returning to work by the end of the month, Fico said, six or seven weeks after the attempted assassination.

“On May 15th, an activist of the Slovak opposition tried to assassinate me… because of my political views”, Fico said, before making clear while he totally forgave the gunman, he absolutely condemned the media and political environment that created the circumstances in which a politician would be subjected to assassination.

The Slovak populist told the country he would “make the first move” towards peace in the country through forgiveness. He said: “I feel no hatred towards the stranger who shot me. I will not take any legal action against him, nor will I seek damages compensation. I forgive him and let him sort out what he did and why he did it in his own head.”

The gunman was “only the messenger of evil and political hatred”, and not a “lone madman” as had been claimed in the early days after the shooting, Fico remarked, stating the febrile environment in the country was being stoked by the “politically unsuccessful and frustrated opposition”.

Fico namechecked “anti-government media, foreign-funded political non-governmental organisations” and U.S. based, Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros and criticised the “opinion-forming media” for tolerating and giving cover for political hated and aggression. The Soros-funded media in particular should not now seek to play down what had happened and why, Fico remarked.

He said: “I want to ask the anti-government media, especially those co-owned by the financial structure of [George] Soros not to go down this path and to respect not only the gravity of reasons for the attempted murder, but also the consequences of this attempt”, and asked how that same anti-populist globalist media would react had an assassination attempt been made against one of their own people, rather than their political opponent.

Much of Fico’s 14-minute address was spent addressing the wider environment in the Western world which enabled these developments, and particularly the enforcement of what he called a “single-correct-opinion” throughout the European Union, through with the “big democracies” control the small. Presently, that “single-correct-opinion” forces conformity over support for the Ukraine War, but Fico cited several other cases in the past where his left-populist platform saw him fall foul of the prevailing sentiment in Europe, such as opposing the bombing of Belgrade in 1999, withdrawing Slovak soldiers from Iraq in 2007, and blocking European Union mandatory immigration rules.

The international community turns a blind eye to abuses by governments which hold correct opinions, the Prime Minister claimed, while coming down hard on governments that deviate. He particularly cited the experience of the last Slovak globalist-centrist government, now in opposition, which ruled between 2020 and 2023. They, he claimed, had abused the Slovak justice system to liquidate opponents during their time in power, and received no rebuke because they held the correct opinions where it mattered.

Fico said:

I fundamentally disagree with the single-correct-opinion policy that some major Western democracies are aggressively promoting today… anyone who does not identify with this single mandatory opinion is immediately labelled as a Russian agent, and politically marginalized internationally. It is a cruel observation, but the right to a different opinion has ceased to exist in the EU.

Democracy should not mean “to imprison or maliciously kill the opponent for no reason whatsoever”, Fico said, but expressed his hope nevertheless that “society will calm down and that we will meet soon in a meaningful and peaceful manner. All the best and let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

Certainly, it appears that left wing populist Fico pursuing what he describes as a Slovakia-first national policy — which includes not contributing to the Ukrainian war effort — nearly cost him his life. As previously reported, the would-be assassin Juraj Cintula confessed to police that he shot at Fico because he wanted to get him out of office over his government’s policies.

Per Slovak police paperwork filings, the man’s main political bugbear was the fact Fico had blocked military aid being sent to Ukraine, and he felt compelled to act because of that. The police investigation continues.