President Kiska criticizes populism and hate

"Populists work with fear, politicians with courage. It is the task of politicians to inspire self-confidence and hope in people," said Slovak President Andrej Kiska on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday. According to the president, fearmongering by politicians is one of the reasons why people feel insecure. He is concerned that politicians often fail to weigh their words properly and do not think enough about how they could be used. He gave the example of Great Britain, where it was common refrain in the Brexit referendum campaign that the source of the country's economic frustration was people from Eastern Europe. "Inflammatory words led to some young Poles being killed. So, we must set clear boundaries and limits," he claimed, adding that people often just "pass by" hateful words on social networks and websites and thus open the door for the spread of extremism and fascism.