Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico underwent a difficult abdominal operation after Wednesday's assassination and is in stable condition. His Czech counterpart Petr Fiala commented on Seznam Zprávy on what he believes the tragic event may have caused.
"My first thought was that it was fake, that it wasn't true. It was shortly after the cabinet meeting, I had it on my agenda that I was going to support the hockey players, but of course I cancelled it. I watched anxiously to see what they were talking about, what the health implications were," said Petr Fiala in an interview with Seznam Zprav editor-in-chief Jiří Kubík.
The Prime Minister also commented on the heated discussions in Czech politics and society as a whole. "I do that by talking to citizens, I go to those who are shouting and disagreeing with our policies. I think it's part of the job, the profession of a politician, that they have to talk to the people and they can't be afraid of that. I have no doubts about that. You can only do this job if you see a purpose in it, if you have something to give to society, if you want to take the country somewhere. Those other things are part of it, but it certainly doesn't involve fear or worry. Anyone who wants to have a comfortable life cannot be prime minister." Added by Petr Fiala.
"I warn against using emotions in politics, I try to suppress them. Emotions should be tamed by reason, they provoke more emotions, they inflame the atmosphere. This is true both in private and in public life," said the Czech Prime Minister Fiala.
According to the Prime Minister, it is important to distinguish in society who spreads hatred every day and who once in a while points out that his opponent supports Russia.
"I look with great concern at what is happening in our country," He told Fiala. "It is not democratic political parties that are spreading hate. We are fighting a battle over the character of the state, over what our democracy will look like."
Although the exact motive of the attacker has not yet been officially confirmed, there is widespread speculation about the expression of hatred that has long plagued the divided Slovak public. In this context, words of civil or political war were heard yesterday from the mouths of Fico's coalition partners. Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and representatives of the opposition parties unequivocally condemned the attack on Fico, describing it as an attack on democracy and calling for calm.
ods.cz/gnews.cz-RoZ_07
https://www.ods.cz/clanek/25709-premier-petr-fiala-ve-specialnim-vysilani-seznam-zprav
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