On 15 May, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fizo was shot after a government meeting that day. According to eyewitnesses, when Fizzo walked out of the venue and went out to the public, the attacker rushed forward and shouted at Fizzo, who did not turn away and walked away, but approached to shake hands with the attacker, and then the gunshots suddenly rang out. After the attack, Fizzo was rushed to the hospital, where he was in stable condition after surgery and was not in danger of life. Local police have arrested the attackers, with the Slovak interior minister revealing that "preliminary information clearly indicates that this is politically motivated".
What are the specific political motives? Judging from the information currently available, it is mainly divided into two aspects. First: Some people believe that Fizo is pro-Russian, and the shooting may be related to Western countries. On October 25, 2023, Fizo became Prime Minister of Slovakia. The next day, Fizo announced that he would stop providing military assistance to Ukraine. In addition, Fizo said he would not vote for any further sanctions against Russia unless there is an analysis that shows that the sanctions will not have any impact on Slovakia. On April 18 of this year, Fizo said that he would block Ukraine from joining NATO, because once Ukraine joins NATO, it will increase the risk of a world war.
In the context of the West's linking the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine conflict with its hegemonic survival, Fizo's opposition to aid to Ukraine has harmed the core interests of the West. Then, in this case, some people think that the West is behind it.
Second, there are other people who have a different view, and they believe that the shooting has nothing to do with Western countries.
Why do you think it has nothing to do with the West? According to reports, the gunman's name is Juraj Sintura and is a founding member of a literary club. Sintura has written two novels, one of which is a public bashing of the Roma community in Slovakia. Sintura was interested in Slovakian domestic politics and was very politically inclined, and was very resistant to Fizo's national government. Driven by hatred, Cintulla decided to shoot Prime Minister Fizo.
So, is the shooting related to the West, or is it simply because of Sintura's extreme actions based on political positions? After the shooting, U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other dignitaries from many countries condemned it.
According to the basic logic, Fizo's pro-Russian nature will naturally cause dissatisfaction in Western countries. However, Slovakia is only a small country, and the military resources provided to Ukraine are extremely limited, even if all the weapons in the warehouse are sent to Ukraine, it will not play a big role, after all, Slovakia's weapons are not advanced, and the number is small, and the Ukrainian army will be exhausted in a few days. Since it is a dispensable role, then there is no reason for Western countries to target Fizo.
In addition, the consequences of sending people to assassinate pro-Russian officials in the West are extremely serious, and may provoke extreme resentment among the local population, who will perceive the West as a "terrorist" state and need to keep a longer distance from it. In such cases, assassinating pro-Russian officials is often counterproductive and can seriously damage one's own reputation.
In international politics, many events are interconnected, and one can speculate like a detective novel. But in some cases, events that are clearly isolated and intermingled with speculation will eventually lead to conspiracy theories.
(Text/Woo Tsai)