Europe
Robert Fico shooting: What do we know?
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot dead yesterday as he greeted citizens outside the House of Culture in Handlová, in the west of the country.
Denník N reporter Daniel Vražda, who was in the area, said he did not see the incident but was nearby and heard several shots. Vražda then saw the prime minister being lifted from the ground by security guards, put into a car and driven away.
According to witnesses at the scene, Fico walked towards the people who were there to greet him and several shots were fired. Available information suggests that a total of four to five shots were fired, after which Fico fell to the ground.
The Prime Minister remains in a critical condition
The alleged shooter was immediately arrested at the scene.
“The perpetrator fired five shots and the prime minister is still in a critical condition,” said Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok. The first information we have shows that the attacker had a clear political motivation and that the decision (to attack the prime minister) was taken shortly after the presidential elections,” Matúš Šutaj Eštok said.
The minister added that “the protection of constitutional representatives and some media organisations, as well as political representatives of both the coalition and the opposition, will be increased in the coming days”.Fico underwent a major operation that lasted about 3.5 hours.Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák said the prime minister’s condition was “very complicated”.
“We believe he will be strong enough to overcome this trauma,” Kaliňák said, according to Dennik N.
For his part, Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC on Thursday morning that “I think he will survive in the end”, adding that the prime minister’s condition was “not life-threatening at the moment”.
Conflicting claims about the shooterInitial reports on Slovak TV channel JOJ 24 identified the attacker as Juraj Cintula, 71, one of the founders of the DÚHA (Rainbow) literary club.
Cintula was president of the literary club until 2016 and author of three books of poetry.
Until 2016, Cintula worked as a security guard at a shopping centre in Levice, but resigned after being attacked on duty.The assailant, who was also a member of the Slovak Writers’ Union, allegedly wanted to found a political party called the Movement Against Violence eight years ago.
According to the portal of a Hungarian-language newspaper in Bratislava, Juraj Cintula was a sampatizan of the “pro-Russian paramilitary group” Slovenskí Branci (SB).Photos of Cintula regularly attending meetings of the organisation were published in 2016. The Hungarian website claims that the killer was listed as an “author and publisher” on the paramilitary group’s Facebook page and that some of his writings had been published.
But this is where things get complicated. According to the article, Cintula’s writings appear to criticise refugees and the Slovak state. It is a serious contradiction that the group organises uniformed commemorations at the grave of Jozef Tiso, the head of the fascist puppet state called the First Slovak Republic between 1938 and 1945, since the SB positions itself as an organisation against Nazism and fascism.
The Új Szó news portal, citing the Markíza television channel, reported that Cintula said shortly after his arrest that he had been “planning the assassination for a month because he disagreed with the government’s policies”.
In the video broadcast by Markíza, the suspect said: “I do not agree with the government’s policies. Why are the media being targeted? Why is RTVS [Slovak National Television] being attacked? Why was [Supreme Court President Ján] Mazák fired?”
Was Fico expecting an assassination attempt?A month ago, Fico posted a video on social media in which he talked about how the “progressive media” would shoot him and his government. The video was leaked by the Austrian newspaper Der Standard.
In the video, which was part of the political struggle at the time, the prime minister criticised the texts of the “progressive media”, which he said could lead to violence against government officials.”
“I expect that this frustration, which has been intensified by Denník N. Smečko or Aktualita, will escalate to the murder of one of the ” Fico said.
It is also significant that Interior Minister Eštok referred to the presidential elections.Last March and April, Slovakia’s pro-Western former foreign minister Ivan Korčok and Peter Pellegrini, leader of the ruling Hlas party, ran for the presidency.
Pellegrini won the race in the final round. Pellegrini had attracted attention by saying that if another NATO member was attacked by Russia, he would oppose sending Slovak forces to help that country under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. leading politicians of the government, and I am not exaggerating by a millimetre,” Fico said.
It is also significant that Interior Minister Eštok referred to the presidential elections.Last March and April, Slovakia’s pro-Western former foreign minister Ivan Korčok and Peter Pellegrini, leader of the ruling Hlas party, ran for the presidency.
Pellegrini won the race in the final round. Pellegrini had attracted attention by saying that if another NATO member was attacked by Russia, he would oppose sending Slovak forces to help that country under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Some commentators have pointed out that the political atmosphere in Slovakia has been particularly harsh in recent years. In 2018, the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, sparked one of the largest protests in Slovakia’s modern history and forced then-Prime Minister Fico to resign.
Kuciak was investigating tax fraud by some businessmen with links to senior Slovak politicians.
Lubos Blaha, deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament and vice-president of Fico’s Smer party, blamed the “liberal media” and said: “On behalf of Smer, I strongly condemn what happened today in Handlová and at the same time express my great disgust at what you have done here in recent years. You, the liberal media and the political opposition.How much hatred you have spread against Robert Fico,” he said.
Fico’s stance on the war in Ukraine made the West unhappy
Pellegrini’s comments are closely aligned with those of Prime Minister Fico and his party.
Pellegrini claims that it is important for Slovakia to remain committed to the EU and NATO, but like Fico he refuses to send military aid to Ukraine.
Last January, Fico said neighbouring Ukraine was not a ‘sovereign nation’ but under the ‘absolute control’ of the United States.
The leader, who opposes military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, reiterated that he does not want Ukraine to join NATO.
Fico also accused Ukraine of being ‘one of the most corrupt countries in the world’, adding: ‘Only God knows how much of the aid sent to you has disappeared somewhere.
He argued that there was no military solution to the current conflict and that Ukraine would have to give up some of its territory.
He called for some kind of compromise that would be “very painful” for both sides: “And what do they expect? That the Russians will leave? That is unrealistic,” the Slovak leader said.
Fico cut military aid to Kiev immediately after his election victory, but at the EU summit he did not put obstacles in the way of Brussels’ aid to Kiev and a compromise was reached.
In the end, Fico announced that Slovakia would only provide humanitarian aid to Kiev and was also considering the possibility of supplying demining equipment.
The prime minister also announced that his country would help Ukraine train Ukrainian soldiers.
Together with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, Fico was seen as a ‘bulwark’ against pro-EU and pro-US policies in Central Europe.
Europe ‘shocked’ by assassination
Fico, who took office as Slovakia’s prime minister for a fourth term in September 2023, had been criticised by Western countries, particularly the European Commission, for his “pro-Russian stance”, as well as his regulation of the media and NGOs, and the laws his government was trying to pass.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack after the assassination, saying: “Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common asset.”
Charles Michel, President of the Council of Europe, said in a statement in X that he was “shocked by the news” and added: “Nothing can justify violence or attacks of this kind. My thoughts are with the prime minister and his family,” he said.
The pro-Western prime minister of neighbouring Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, issued a statement on the X website shortly after the incident, describing the news as ‘shocking’.
Other European leaders, including Fico’s Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, also expressed their “shock” at the shooting, condemned political violence and wished Fico a speedy recovery, while Romanian President Klaus Iohannis condemned the “extremist act” that “threatens our fundamental EU values”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the “cowardly” attack and stressed that violence has no place in European politics.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “shocked” to learn of the “cowardly” attack and condemned all forms of violence as attacks on the fundamental principles of democracy and freedom.
Spanish Prime Minister and Social Democrat Pedro Sánchez also expressed outrage, saying that ‘nothing can justify violence’.
In Bulgaria, President Rumen Radev and Boyko Borisov, former prime minister and leader of the country’s largest party GERB, strongly condemned the violence, while Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the ‘pro-Russian’ Vazrajdane party, questioned who would want to kill Fico: “In this situation, every normal European should ask two questions: Who has an interest in the death of the Slovak politician? Who will be next?” he asked.
Kostadinov also recalled that Fico had repeatedly expressed his opposition to the provision of military aid to Ukraine, Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenyuk condemned the attack and called for efforts to ensure that “violence does not become the norm in any country, in any form, in any sphere”.
“I was outraged to learn of the attempt on the life of the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico. There can be no justification for this heinous crime,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing his sincere support and wishing Fico a speedy recovery.
According to the Financial Times, the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Europe’s largest port, has begun allocating space for NATO military cargo and planning routes for weapons shipments in preparation for a potential war with Russia.
Landing exercises will also be conducted at the port. Although the port has previously handled weapons shipments, it did not have a dedicated pier for this purpose, even during the peak of the Cold War. Under the new plan, a section of the container terminal will be refitted to allow for the safe transfer of ammunition from one ship to another.
Port Director Boudewijn Simons stated that military shipment logistics will be coordinated with the neighboring Port of Antwerp in Belgium, the EU’s second-largest. Simons emphasized that this cooperation will be particularly important for receiving cargo from the US, the UK, and Canada. “We increasingly see each other less as competitors. Of course, we compete when necessary, but we work together where we can,” said Simons, adding that when large volumes of weapons need to be transported, Rotterdam will ask Antwerp or other ports to handle part of the load, and vice versa.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence confirmed in a statement in May that the port would provide space for military shipments at NATO’s request. This decision was made within the framework of the European Union’s rearmament program, through which the bloc aims to reduce its defense dependency on the US.
The Port of Rotterdam is also used as a center for storing strategic oil reserves. In this context, Simons called on European countries to take precautions regarding other critical resources such as copper, lithium, and graphite. The EU is expected to present a “stockpiling strategy” on July 8, which will cover medical supplies, critical raw materials, energy equipment, food, and water.
Divisions within Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) over rearmament and relations with Russia are set to culminate at its upcoming congress, where party leader and finance minister Lars Klingbeil faces backlash from a faction within his party.
According to a report in the Financial Times, one of the critics of the SPD leadership is the eldest son of former SPD Chancellor Willy Brandt, who still holds significant influence over the party with his Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy), a policy of rapprochement with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
Peter Brandt, a 76-year-old historian, has co-signed an SPD motion criticizing the government’s rearmament plans and advocating for “de-escalation and a gradual return to cooperation with Russia.”
The manifesto, published ahead of this week’s SPD party conference, states, “There is a long road ahead to return to a stable order of peace and security in Europe.”
While acknowledging that strengthening the defense capabilities of Germany and Europe is “necessary,” the authors emphasize that these efforts must be “part of a strategy aimed at de-escalation and the gradual restoration of trust, not a new arms race.”
Peter Brandt told the Financial Times that Klingbeil approved the new defense spending increase “without checking if it was the majority view.” He added, “This is a problem. There isn’t as clear a stance among the members as is reflected in the leadership.”
The criticism comes as Klingbeil, deputy chancellor in the coalition government led by Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz, prepares a major “funding injection” for the military, aiming to increase the country’s defense budget by 70% by 2029.
Brandt’s words are a reminder that many Social Democrats remain reluctant to fully embrace the country’s “Zeitenwende” (turning point) in defense policy, announced by former SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The internal rebellion could create problems for Klingbeil, who negotiated the coalition agreement with Merz after the SPD’s worst-ever election result in February. The dissenters could make it difficult for the government, which holds a slim majority of just 13 seats, to pass legislation on the budget, arms deliveries, and the planned return to compulsory military service.
Uwe Jun, a political scientist at the University of Trier, noted that while the rebels are not a majority in the SPD, they are not a small minority either. “There is a long tradition in the SPD of people who came from the peace movement of the 1970s and 1980s,” he said. “They are critical of anything related to the military.”
Klingbeil’s reorganization of the party leadership following the election fiasco has further fueled the controversy. The 47-year-old politician is accused of consolidating his power after replacing 66-year-old Rolf Mützenich as the head of the SPD parliamentary group. Mützenich is also a signatory of the manifesto.
“Personal and political tensions are also playing a role,” said Gesine Schwan, a political scientist and SPD member who was asked to sign the motion but declined.
Klingbeil, who grew up after the fall of the Berlin Wall, has tried to shift the party’s foreign policy stance. In a series of speeches and editorials in 2022, he admitted that the party had “failed to realize that things in Russia had already been moving in a very different direction.”
The manifesto’s signatories argue that the pursuit of peace must be the priority. Ralf Stegner, who helped draft the text, caused controversy last month when it was revealed he had traveled to Azerbaijan in April to meet with Russian officials, including one under EU sanctions.
Stegner, 65, who at the time served on the parliamentary committee overseeing Germany’s intelligence service, defended the meeting, stating that MPs from Merz’s CDU had also attended to keep communication channels with Moscow open.
“You have to keep talking to everyone,” Stegner told the Financial Times. “The insinuation that this means agreeing with what others say or being a secret agent for a third party is, of course, complete nonsense.”
Stegner’s stance reflects the continued nostalgia within the SPD for Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik. According to a party insider, members who joined the SPD under Brandt’s leadership, now in their 60s, make up 58% of the membership.
Peter Brandt, who said he never fully shared his father’s views, explained that he signed the manifesto because he believes the Russian threat is exaggerated.
“I do not agree with the idea that Russia will attack NATO,” said the younger Brandt. “The Russian army has shown weakness in the Ukraine war.”
He added that NATO is “currently superior to the Russian army in conventional terms, even without the Americans,” and called NATO’s goal of dedicating 5% of GDP to defense “unreasonable.”
Klingbeil, however, pointed out that Willy Brandt, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971, also oversaw large defense budgets exceeding 3.5% of GDP.
“And ultimately, I don’t think anyone would associate Willy Brandt with someone who focused solely on military matters,” the SPD leader remarked.
Jun said Klingbeil symbolizes the “new school of thought within the party,” adding that the SPD’s younger MPs are “quite pragmatic” on Russia.
But Schwan believes Klingbeil will have to contend with the “old guard” for a while longer. “De-escalation, security, and peace policy are still part of the SPD’s DNA,” she said.
The grandfather of the new head of MI6 was reportedly a Nazi spy known as “The Butcher” in German-occupied Chernihiv.
Blaise Metreweli was appointed earlier this month as the first female spy chief in the 116-year history of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
According to documents cited by the Daily Mail, Metreweli’s grandfather, Constantine Dobrowolski, was a Nazi collaborator who boasted of killing Jews.
The newspaper reports that Dobrowolski, a Ukrainian, defected from the Red Army to become a chief informant for the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in the Chernihiv region.
Metreweli, 47, never knew her grandfather. He remained in Nazi-occupied Ukraine when his family fled in 1943 as the Red Army liberated the area.
Documents found in German archives reveal that Dobrowolski was known to the Nazis as “Agent No. 30.”
At one point, the Soviet Union placed a 50,000-ruble bounty on Dobrowolski’s head (approximately £200,000 today), labeling him “the greatest enemy of the Ukrainian people.”
According to the newspaper, Dobrowolski sought revenge against Russia for killing his family and confiscating their property during the 1917 revolution.
One file reportedly contains a handwritten letter from Dobrowolski to his Nazi superiors, signed “Heil Hitler.”
In another file, he is said to have boasted that he “personally participated in the destruction of the Jews” and had killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office commented on the allegations, stating, “Blaise Metreweli did not know and had never met her father’s father. Blaise’s ancestors are characterized by conflict and division, and like many with Eastern European roots, she has a history that is only partially understood.”
The spokesperson suggested that it is “precisely this complex heritage” that “contributes to Blaise’s determination to prevent conflict and protect the British people from the modern threats of hostile states” as the next head of MI6.
Metreweli grew up abroad before studying anthropology at Cambridge, where she was part of the winning team in the 1997 Boat Race.
Joining MI6 in 1999, Metreweli served for two decades in Europe and the Middle East.
Metreweli currently holds the position of “Q,” the head of the technical section of MI6, made famous by the James Bond films.
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