4Hp32xKfa8V Author: Jiang Li opinion.huanqiu.com article Jiang Li: Extremization of political violence is threatening Europe /e3pmub6h5/e3pr9baf6 <article><section data type="rtext"><p>On the afternoon of the 15th, Slovak Prime Minister Fizo was shot while interacting with the people in the Trenchin region of Slovakia, which aroused widespread concern of the international community. After several hours of full rescue, Fizo is said to be out of danger of life, but the rare event that the incumbent prime minister was assassinated and seriously injured has triggered the thinking and concern of Slovakia at home and abroad about the increasingly frequent camp confrontation, social hatred and extreme violence in current European politics</ p> <p>Slovakia is a country in Central Europe. It became independent on January 1, 1993 after the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. It joined the EU and NATO in 2004, and began to use the euro in 2009. Slovakia is the most deeply integrated country in the European integration process among the four countries of the Visegrad Group in Central Europe. Fizo is regarded as one of the most successful politicians in Slovakia since its independence. In the autumn 2023 parliamentary election, he led the center left party - the Social Democratic Party to achieve political return, won the election and served as Prime Minister for the fourth time. Since he came to power seven months ago, he has implemented a series of domestic reform measures, advocated the concept of sovereign diplomacy, and advocated that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine should be ended as soon as possible through peaceful negotiations, which was criticized by the opposition party and the liberal media. Previously, after Speaker Pellegrini, supported by the Fizo government, was elected President on April 6, the intensity of social confrontation in Slovakia intensified. Slovak Interior Minister Estock said that the assassination of Prime Minister Fizo had a clear political motive</ p> <p>Since Slovakia's independence, it is the first violent attack against a national leader, which will have a huge impact on its domestic political pattern and social psychology. Some Slovak politicians said that May 15 would be the most sad day in Slovakia's contemporary history, because the assassination of the Prime Minister meant an attack on Slovakia's national status, sovereignty and security, as well as a blow to the core of its democratic society. Although Slovak ruling party and opposition party members unanimously condemned the violence, this incident may not be the "end line" for resolving hatred among political factions in the country, but may become the "starting gun" that aggravates the gunpowder of political parties' struggle. Estock even said that Slovakia was approaching a "cold civil war". The ordinary people of Slovakia cannot accept the cruel fact that the Prime Minister was assassinated psychologically. In the past 40 years, except for the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic in 2003, the assassination of European prime ministers or presidents is rare. This is an incurable pain for Slovak society, which will be deeply troubled for a long time in the future. Social polarization and tension may further intensify</ p> <adv-loader __attr__inner="7004636" __attr__style="width: auto; position: relative;float: left;border: 1px solid #ebebeb; padding: 20px;overflow: hidden;margin: 10px 30px 40px 0; "></adv-loader> <p>The assassination of the Slovak Prime Minister is, in a sense, a microcosm of the explosion of extreme political violence in Europe in recent years. In the context of the Russian Ukrainian conflict, the Palestinian Israeli conflict and the upcoming European Parliament elections in June, this event will undoubtedly affect the political development of Europe. Since the 2008 international financial crisis, Europe has experienced the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, the refugee crisis, the "Brexit" of the United Kingdom, the COVID-19 epidemic, the deterioration of the geopolitical environment and the energy crisis. Increased security concerns, increased inequality, and declining living standards have led to the growing popularity of extreme political views and the rise of right-wing extremist forces, Values such as inclusiveness and tolerance are challenged. Among the major Western European countries, anti Semitism and Islamophobia in Britain have surged. From October 1 to October 18, 2023, there were 218 "anti Semitism" crimes in London, compared with 15 in the same period last year; The number of crimes against Islam increased from 42 to 101. Violence against ethnic and religious minorities and attacks against political opponents in France are on the rise; Attacks against politicians in Germany have multiplied since 2019, and there have been more than 20 attacks since 2024. On the whole, compared with a few years ago, in European politics, the tendency of politicians to speak hard, demonize political opponents, and increase their aggressiveness has become increasingly obvious, which has also had a certain negative impact on the political and social environment of Slovakia. This is one of the root causes of this incident</ p> <p>This incident once again sounded the alarm bell for Europe, from civilians to politicians, to be alert to the extreme of political violence. At the level of policy formulation, the leaders of EU institutions and some European countries have expressed zero tolerance for violence, recognizing that the growing hostility and aggression in society will lead to serious and uncontrollable consequences, This may help to reach an agreement on the formulation of relevant legal measures to limit and combat extremist forces and violence in European politics. At the level of party and league activities, the issue of verbal violence in political party competition will receive more attention, because the verbal violence of politicians incites the behavior violence of the people, which may help countries and institutions pay attention to speech norms, and more advocate democratic and legal expression of political differences. At the network and media level, European countries may take measures to strengthen supervision and pay attention to the dark side of the network, so as to avoid the atmosphere of randomly spreading confrontation and hate speech in society. Finally, European countries also need to pay more attention to the security and defense work of leaders and politicians, and take into account the legitimate possession of weapons by ordinary people, so as to reduce social unrest as far as possible and avoid the recurrence of violent attacks. (The author is a researcher of the Russian Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)</p></section></article> one trillion and seven hundred and fifteen billion eight hundred and eighty-six million one hundred and twenty-two thousand three hundred and eleven Copyrighted works of Globegroup are strictly prohibited from being reproduced or mirrored without written authorization. Violators will be investigated for legal responsibility. Editor in charge: Zhao Jiandong Global Times one trillion and seven hundred and fifteen billion eight hundred and ninety-nine million one hundred and seventy-two thousand four hundred and sixty-eight one one []