Reactions of Slovak political parties

The information about the assasination attempt came during the parliamentary session and the reactions of politicians came quickly. The coalition parties pointed at opposition parties and media, they hold them accountable for the polarised atmosphere in the society.

According to Peter Žiga, Speaker-designate of Parliament from the Hlas party, society is divided into two camps. ... He says we now have to focus on trying to establish discussion and calm the atmosphere. He reiterated that violence should have no place in a society.

The deputy speaker of the parliament Ľubos Blaha, a member of the Smer party, criticised the media and opposition.

In an emotional statement, he claimed that liberal media and political opposition spread hatred against the Prime Minister and that their actions lead to the attack.

Chair of the Slovak national Party Andrej Danko considers the attack as a beginning of a political war.

He added that they will now introduce legislative changes, like they have done with RTVS and that they will not be stopped by anything, especially now after the attack.

The opposition has also condemned the attack.

Chair of the opposition party SaS Branislav Grohling considers the attack as an attack against the state and asked the society to calm down at this moment. He also asked the coalition to stop mutual accusations in the parliament.

According to him, this will only lead to further escalation of tensions and potentially to further attacks.

Chair of the Progressive Slovakia Party Michal Šimecka considers the assassination attempt as an attack on democracy and called for moderation.

According to the KDH, Slovak society has been polarized for a long time and politicians should do everything they can to make violence disappear from it. SaS and Progressive Slovakia had planned protests against the abolishment of RTVS for Wednesday, but cancelled them. The extraordinary session on RTVS was suspended indefinitely by the parliament.

RTVS