In several European countries, politicians are wondering if they dare to stand for election again, ‘s correspondents say.
European politicians are worried about the threat of violence during the European elections, say ‘s journalists across the continent in ‘s morning.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was shot on Wednesday at a public event. According to Slovakian authorities, Fico has been able to speak a little on Thursday, but his condition is still very serious.
The outgoing president of Slovakia Zuzana Caputova proposed on Thursday that all parties in the country should suspend their European election campaign because of the shooting.
– The situation here is so divided and inflamed that political campaigns are wanted to be kept as mild as possible, says the European correspondent Anna Karismo From Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
However, concerns about security have also arisen elsewhere in Europe.
According to Karismo, attacks on people doing election work in Germany have increased this year, and some politicians have withdrawn from running for the European elections due to security threats.
In Germany, candidates from the left and green parties have experienced threats in particular.
In Denmark, the police and the union of municipalities have drawn up instructions for election candidates, which advise, for example, that you should put surveillance cameras in your home and that you should not let people near your home, says Karolina Kantola From Copenhagen.
According to a survey by the Danish police and the Union of Municipalities, up to 75 percent of the candidates in the last parliamentary election faced harassment during their campaign.
EU Correspondent Hannele Muilu says that security measures have not been increased in Brussels because of the incident, although there have been strict checks and security measures in EU buildings in the past.
Politics became a hot topic
Annastiina Heikkilän according to France, security measures have been tightened for years, but local politicians in particular are still in an unprotected position. For example, the drastic increase in prices has caused discontent and fueled hate speech.
– If before politics was a topic of small talk in France, now you have to be a little careful and monitor moods. It has turned into a hot topic, says Heikkilä.
According to EU correspondent Hannele Muilu, researchers have been worried that politicians increasingly view each other as enemies. In some places, the people also think this way, he says.
You can watch ‘s morning conversation in its entirety below.