Bratislava, May 16 (TASR) - If the perpetrator of the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) was radicalised deliberately, the police will track it down in the same way as they did in the case of the shooting in front of a gay bar in Bratislava in 2022, publicist Juraj Hrabko told TASR TV on Thursday, adding that the police have all the tools to clarify the motive for the crime.

Hrabko pointed out that the entire society, which has gone through parliamentary and presidential elections in quick succession, is polarised. "The frustration and radicalisation of some politicians, activist media and a part of society could have led to such an unprecedented step," Hrabko noted. However, he doesn't consider democracy to be under threat, pointing out that several US presidents and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme lost their lives as a result of assassinations and democracy as such wasn't threatened.

However, according to Hrabko, the level of communication among politicians has deteriorated over the past few years, and the rhetoric has become more aggressive, even in the case of politicians who describe themselves as decent and democratic. "Politicians are really the culprits of the mood in which society finds itself. Of course, they are not alone, that's where I see a really big role of social media," he said.

The publicist further stated that many people communicate mainly within isolated opinion bubbles on social networks, where they repeatedly confirm their positions in dialogue with like-minded debaters. "That's where it gets radicalised," he stressed.