Warning signals

The attempt on the life of Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, exposed divisions in one of Europe's most polarised countries and sent shockwaves across the continent

- Pjotr Sauer

Father Tomáš stood solemnly in the small Catholic church nestled near a park along the banks of the Danube River in Bratislava last Friday morning. He had seen an increase in visitors since the shock shooting, two days previously, of Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico.

The priest, who did not wish to give his full name, planned to hold his weekly Sunday service to pray "for peace in Slovakia, so that we find mutual respect and understanding".
But beyond the centuries-old walls of his church, such language of unity is harder to find.

The assassination attempt in Handlová, a town about 180km from the capital, has prompted soul-searching among the country's deeply divided society and shone a light on what many say is a far wider crisis in a Slovakia that has been marred by toxicity and violence.

Less than an hour after the shooting, as Fico was being rushed by helicopter to a local hospital - his health deemed too critical for him to be flown back to Bratislava for treatment - his allies rushed to criticise the opposition and elements of civil society, accusing them of having blood on their hands.

L'uboš Blaha, the deputy speaker of parliament and a senior member of Fico's Smer party, said: "This is your work. I want to express my deep disgust at what you have been doing here for the last few years. You, the liberal media, the political opposition, what kind of hatred did you spread towards Robert Fico? You built gallows for him."

The interior minister, Matúš Šutaj-Eštok, later warned: "We are on the doorstep of a civil war. The assassination attempt on the prime minister is a confirmation of that." Fico's critics instead said that the divisive climate cultivated by the prime minister and his allies was partly to blame for the attack.