There’s a fire burning near a barrel with gunpowder (+video)

The editor-in-chief of the Czech magazine Respekt was in Slovakia at the time of the assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer). In the interview with him, you will learn, among other things:

• how he evaluates the reactions of politicians and the media,
• how is the opposition to deal with the dilemma between empathy and weakness,
• where is the line when criticizing politicians
• and why an assassination attempt is ground zero for Slovak society.

Coincidentally, you were in Slovakia on Wednesday, when the assassination took place. Do you remember what was your first thought after you learned that the Slovak prime minister was shot by an assassin?

I remember. It is a moment that will probably never be forgotten. I saw it for the first time in your Minute by Minute. I immediately wrote to the editors and immediately sent an addendum saying that we have to wait for confirmation first, because this is the kind of information you don’t want to believe. Today, many things can be manipulated in some way. So the first reaction was like this. Then, when it began to dawn on me that it was true, came the total shock and horror that such a thing had happened.

We spent a long time in one country, we are culturally close to each other. There is always a tendency for us Slovaks to compare ourselves with the Czech Republic, to look for parallels. Is there anything in recent Czech history that could be compared in its scope, depth and consequences to what happened to Robert Fico?

I don’t think it can be compared to anything. What is important are the contexts you mentioned, at what moment it happened, in what divided society.