COMMENTARY / On Friday night through the celebration of the anniversary of Cyril and Methodius on the Devín Fort close to Bratislava, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico spoke in individual to the general public for the primary time for the reason that assassination. The spotlight of his speech was when he referred to as liberalism a “most cancers”. The moat that divides (not solely) Slovak society has been basically deepened by the Slovak Prime Minister.
On the anniversary, Fico deepened the moat dividing Slovak society. He reaped success. The members of the celebration greeted Fico with a standing ovation, and the prime minister confirmed admirable vitality. Regardless of a latest moderately terrifying harm, he stood as he spoke. And that is the one optimistic factor he confirmed throughout his speech. In any other case, his efficiency was a declaration of battle on the opposition, on freedom, and I am afraid, on democracy.
He deepened the ditch dividing Slovak society, as if the anniversary didn’t imply the anniversary of the arrival of tradition in Bohemia and Slovakia. He spoke as if he have been on the founding assembly of some bigoted, ultra-conservative and nationalist political celebration. From a human perspective, it’s comprehensible that he understands the assassination of his individual as a rare injustice. FORUM 24 wrote each in regards to the assault and in regards to the unfavourable reactions to the assassination from a extremely broad public – together with the media and the Slovak opposition. The Slovak press (in truth) wrote that the assassination was a blow to the center of Slovak society.
It was a very extraordinary injustice, a fully disgusting act and a blow to the center of society – like several assassination of a democratic politician, it was an inexcusable act of violence in a democracy. However Fitz’s speech appeared that he wished to take revenge on the opposition for the assassination. Democratic opposition. On the similar time, the intense polarization of Slovak society and the expansion of hatred in it, which might actually have inspired the murderer to his heinous act, was largely brought on by the camp of Robert Fico himself.
Empty phrases about Slavs
With all due respect (and under no circumstances pretended) to a person who, just some weeks after being shot 5 occasions within the stomach, can ship an eighteen-minute speech standing up, the primary half of Fico’s speech with a shallow rant in regards to the significance of the anniversary of Cyril and Methodius, the place Fico repeatedly strummed the chord of Slavism, although each males who introduced us the scriptures got here from Thessaloniki, Greece on the time. And the Greeks should not actually Slavs.
Then the Slovak prime minister recalled the function of the church for up to date Slovakia, for the up to date Slovak state. It wasn’t till ten minutes into the speech that he modified the topic – and the change was actually for the more severe. He referred to as for constructing “a standard bulwark in opposition to liberalism, which is spreading like a most cancers.” And that such – furthermore younger – ideologies are damaging Slovakia. Fico doesn’t need Slovakia to make a caricature of Western civilization. And he was already at what he considers to be, in his phrases, “the poison that spreads”.
With Orbán to Kyiv and Moscow
He praised the truth that marriage is enshrined within the Slovak structure as a union between a person and a lady. So – though he didn’t say it explicitly – that there shall be no same-sex marriages in Slovakia, which doesn’t need to be a caricature of the West. On the similar time, same-sex marriages should not a caricature, however a cultural and civilizational comfort of the West. A circle of civilization that has come to a extremely civilized realization that the state has no enterprise stepping into folks’s beds. That the state mustn’t stick its fingers into folks’s bedrooms. That sexual orientation and with whom one enters right into a lifelong bond, which we normally name marriage, is a personal matter. And the state solely “initializes” the union, books it, doesn’t decide who could or could not marry whom, so far as grownup self-righteous individuals are involved.
Nonetheless, Fico fairly clearly, and given the content material of the celebrated anniversary of Cyril and Methodius, fairly inadequately, understands and declares same-sex marriage as the tip of civilization, the tip – or a caricature – of Western tradition. He clearly doesn’t perceive that the function and customs of the church (which in fact additionally applies to marriage) is and must be vital just for these residents who belong to that church. And that even whether or not somebody joins which church or not is a personal matter – within the West, within the Euro-Atlantic cultural circle. And that the church, to which just a few subscribe, has nothing to say into the lives of the others.
Maybe much more critical than “the most cancers of liberalism“, nonetheless, was Fitz’s assertion: “I want to specific my admiration for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for the truth that he didn’t hesitate and went to each Kyiv and Moscow. If my well being permits, I want to be part of him. There aren’t any, I repeat, there are by no means sufficient peace talks, peace initiatives.
Prime Minister Fico forgot that the West doesn’t negotiate with terrorists – and if it does, then beneath very strict situations. Not within the fashion of getting politicians go to the terrorist at his dwelling. At his dwelling, within the Western capital of the enemy empire. Such a go to can – and Orbán’s in Moscow most actually will – be abused by these terrorists. Simply as Orbán’s go to shall be abused by the terrorist Putin, who will interpret it for all of Russia and the remainder of the world as servility, weak spot of the West, and because the willingness of the West to pressure Ukraine right into a humiliating capitulation and give up each its territories and its worldwide politics into the palms of the Russian Federation.
Fico zasel strach
My evaluation of Fico’s speech is just not the cry of a caller within the desert. Reasonably, I am afraid that nobody stated something basically completely different about Fico’s speech in any respect. As a result of there may be not a lot else to say about him. In accordance with CTK the chief of the strongest Slovak opposition celebration, Progressive Slovakia, Michal Šimečka, noticed this as effectively. And in addition Branislav Gröhling, chairman of one other opposition celebration Freedom and Solidarity, noticed it precisely the identical means. Additionally, the assertion that liberalism is most cancers scared each of them probably the most.
And the speech additionally scared numerous Slovak and Czech political commentators. That was why. Robert Fico’s first look in entrance of the general public after the assassination confirmed that Slovakia and Europe have one thing to worry. Fico formally introduced that, as Slovak prime minister, he now not adheres to the values of the West. To such vital values as particular person freedom. And that he sees and needs to construct Slovakia as a state the place the opinion of the church is extra vital than the liberty of residents. Even for non-believers. Which is the scenario that – although it’s a completely different church – prevails within the Russian Federation.
Vladimir Putin says one thing very related – though in fact in a extra primitive and violent vocabulary. And together with his admiration for Orbán’s journey to Russia, Fico confirmed his ideological closeness to the East. Slovakia is embarking on a path that’s – as a result of the nation is a member of the EU and NATO and pays within the euro – a elementary menace to the unity of Europe, in addition to a elementary menace to European integrity in serving to Ukraine and going through the ever-increasing army menace of Russia.
