By Monica Showalter
In Europe’s first major assault on a state leader since the assassination of Olaf Palme in Sweden in the 1980s, a socialist opened fire and injured Slovakia’s conservative prime minister, Robert Fico Wednesday.
He held a lot of controversial views and stances on causes dear to the globalist crowd, but there is no clear motive thus far.
Still, there has been interesting speculation as to what it might mean. Slovakia is a small country and not viewed as particularly pivotal, but David Goldman, who knows a thing or million about geopolitics and realpolitick, thinks it may be bringing Europe closer to war. His must-read essay in AsiaTimes, under his pseudonym Spengler, is a must-read:
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Europe’s toughest opponent of military backing for Ukraine, was shot multiple times May 15 by an as yet unidentified assailant. He was transported by helicopter to a trauma center at Banska Bystrica, where he is fighting for his life. His condition is not known.
Few details have been published about the would-be assassin, who was captured after the incident.
He noted this:
So far, we have only questions about the shooting of Fico and no answers. But the strategic background to Ukraine’s military position is dire, the country’s military itself reports, as undermanned and exhausted Ukrainian units succumb to the relentless pounding of Russian air attacks and artillery.
Could it have been someone opposed to his Ukraine stance? The Czech Republic is said to be thinking about following its neighbor, which could lead to a chain reaction, even as U.S. credibility comes under duress, he notes.
The attempted assassination of a determined, credible and duly elected East European leader might prove to be the writing on the wall.
Mark Wauck, another foreign policy expert always worth reading, explores the Ukraine angle, too, citing this tweet:
Fico is best known as a “supporter” of Putin. His party, Direction – Social Democracy, is considered left nationalist/populist. What does this mean in Slovakia?
Megatron @Megatron_ron
 Who wanted to kill Slovak Prime Minister Ficho?
These are some characteristics about him:
– He is against the war in Ukraine and is in favor of negotiations.
– He stopped the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
– He called the regime in Ukraine a Nazi regime.
– He announced a veto for Ukraine to join the EU and NATO.
– He opposed the globalists in Washington.
It is more than clear that the CIA and the Ukrainian regime have crossed the red line in Europe for the second time after blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
10:05 AM · May 15, 2024
At the same time, the Daily Mail ran a piece by David Averre, unrelated to the assassination attempt, arguing that Europe is hurtling towards war.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw the horrors of a large-scale war darken Europe’s doorstep for the first time since the end of World War II.
For a short while, hope endured that a swift resolution to the conflict would materialise, but before long the prospect of a speedy diplomatic solution lay in tatters as Moscow’s drones and missiles continued to batter Ukraine’s cities.
Now more than two years into the conflict, Vladimir Putin has doubled down.
His forces have made noticeable gains on the frontlines in recent weeks as they pressure war-weary and ammo-starved Ukrainian defenders, and his decision to appoint civilian economist Andrei Belousov as defence minister suggests the Kremlin is committed to sustaining its war economy over the long run.
Meanwhile, the president’s long-serving and intensely loyal foreign minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this week challenged what Russia calls the ‘collective West’, declaring Moscow‘s troops are ready to meet NATO on the battlefield.
Which again supports what Goldman was saying. The attempt to take out Fico by either pro-Ukraine or pro-globalist forces, then, could be a scenario worth watching, given that so much is at stake and they’ve all played dirty in the past. This one may well be something that goes beyond local politics and could be well worth watching.