BANSKA BYSTRICA: The hospital official declared that the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico was “very serious” but in a stable condition after being shot five times in an assassination attempt that revealed deep political divisions within the country.
Slovakia’s government announced that it would hold a meeting on state security and a cabinet meeting at 0900 GMT on Thursday.
Miriam Lapunikova, director of the F.D.Roosevelt University Hospital in Banska Bystrica where Fico is admitted, said he had undergone a five-hour surgery with two teams to cope with multiple gunshots wounds.
“Up to this point his condition has been stabilized though it remains very grave and he will be placed in an intensive care unit,” she told reporters.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said doctors had managed to stabilise Fico’s condition overnight, and procedures were underway to secure further improvement.
“Unfortunately the condition continues to be very serious due to the complicated nature of the wounds, but we all want to believe firmly that we will succeed in managing the situation,” he said.
This was the first time for over twenty years because there have not been many assassination attempts against a European political leader; then it caused global outrage; eventually politicians across Europe began saying it mirrored their own increasingly febrile and polarised politics.
The gunman shot Fico, 59, during a visit to the central Slovak town of Handlova, initially leaving him critically ill before going into surgery hours later on Wednesday.
According to Slovak news media, the 71-year-old male shooter had worked as a security guard for a shopping mall before retiring and become three-time author of poetry collections as well as member of Slovak Society of Writers. According Aktuality.sk portal information published by son earlier mentioned gunman kept gun license legally registered under his name
In this video posted on Facebook at some point in time unidentified attacker said: “I do not agree with government policy”.
“Liquidated mass media. Why is RTVS (public broadcaster) being attacked? Why are people… Mazak, why has he been kicked out of his post,” he went on in reference to Jan Mazak, now former chairman of a state judicial council.
The man in the video was identified by Reuters as the person arrested in connection with Fico’s shooting
‘Politically motivated’
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told a news conference on Wednesday that the attack was “politically motivated”.
Fico and his government coalition allies have criticised sections of the media and the opposition, saying they had inflamed tensions in the central European state.
Slovakia’s biggest opposition party, the liberal, pro-western Progressive Slovakia, called off a planned protest and called for restraint to avoid escalating tensions.
Over the years Slovakia has experienced polarised political debate including last month’s hard-fought presidential election which helped Fico tighten his grip on power after an ally Peter Pellegrini won it.
Opposition critics have accused Fico of rapidly changing course since returning for a fourth term as prime minister last October claiming it is a power grab that threatens rule of law.
Among other things, Ukraine support has been scaled back while Russia relations are resumed; punishments for corruption are weakened; high level corruption offices have been done away with including special prosecutors’ office; calls to protect media freedom have also led to proposed revamp of the RTVS public broadcaster.
Slovakia’s mainstream media has been a target of Fico and he did not talk to them. Recently, opposition behavior and media were criticized by some members of his party.
Recently, Germany has experienced many political attacks where Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed shock on Wednesday stating that violence had no place in European politics.
