Bratislava, Slovakia
Former Slovak prime minister Vladimir Meciar was caught on video this week assaulting a reporter. Meciar, whose nationalist party looks to do well in elections this month, took offense when the reporter asked him where he got the money to build a lavish villa. He grabbed the reporter by the back of the neck and decked him. Afterward Meciar said he had acted in self-defense. If you had colleagues who behaved decently, he told journalists, it might be possible to talk to them politely. Two days later, the candidate stomped out of a live debate with his leading rival when the moderator again asked him about his villa.