Slovakia PM Fico's condition still 'very serious' after surgery
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[May 16, 2024]
By Ayhan Uyanik and Boldizsar Gyori
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (Reuters) -Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert
Fico was in a "very serious" but stable condition on Thursday, a
hospital official said, after he was shot five times in an assassination
attempt that has laid bare deep political divisions in the country.
The shooting was the first major assassination attempt on a European
political leader for more than 20 years, and spurred international
condemnation, with political analysts and lawmakers saying it was
indicative of an increasingly febrile and polarized political climate
across the continent.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova called for a calming of political
tensions and said she would invite all parliamentary party leaders for a
joint meeting. Fico ally and President-elect Peter Pellegrini urged
parties to suspend or tone down their campaigning for next month's
European Parliament elections.
"If there is anything the people of Slovakia urgently need today, it is
at least a basic consensus and unity among Slovaks' political
representatives," said Pellegrini, who won an April election for the
mainly ceremonial post of president.
News website tvnoviny.sk reported on Thursday that police had charged
the suspect with attempted murder and that he could face life
imprisonment.
Miriam Lapunikova, director of the F.D. Roosevelt University Hospital in
Banska Bystrica where Fico is being treated, said the 59-year-old prime
minister had undergone five hours of surgery with two teams to treat
multiple gunshot wounds.
"At this point his condition is stabilized but is truly very serious, he
will be in the intensive care unit," she told reporters.
VETERAN LEADER
Fico has dominated Slovak politics for much of the past two decades,
fusing left-leaning economic views with nationalism and tapping into
widespread discontent over living standards. But he has also proven a
divisive figure, with critics saying new reforms threaten the rule of
law and media freedoms.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/16/images/ads/current/peasley_sda_PROMGRAD_2024.png)
His calls for ending sanctions on Russia and halting arms supplies to
Ukraine have endeared him to Moscow, and President Vladimir Putin and
other Russian politicians have been prominent among those condemning the
assassination attempt.
Fico was shot while greeting supporters in the street after chairing a
government meeting in the central town of Handlova.
Slovak news media reported that the 71-year-old gunman was a former
security guard at a shopping mall, the author of three collections of
poetry and a member of the Slovak Society of Writers. News outlet
Aktuality.sk cited the suspect's son as saying his father was the legal
holder of a gun license.
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![](../images/051624PIX/news_k19.jpg)
Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kalinak speaks to members of the
media outside F.D. Roosevelt University Hospital where Slovak Prime
Minister Robert Fico was taken after a shooting incident in Handlova,
in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, May 16, 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/16/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_MEMORIALDAY_2024.png)
There has been no official confirmation of the gunman's identity and
background.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said doctors had managed to
stabilize 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.
The incident raised questions over Fico's security arrangements, as
the attacker managed to fire five shots at point blank range despite
the prime minister being accompanied by several bodyguards.
POLARIZATION
In an undated video posted on Facebook, the alleged attacker was
seen saying: "I do not agree with government policy" and criticizing
government plans to revamp the public broadcaster.
Reuters verified the person in the video matched images of the man
arrested after Fico's shooting.
Fico and his government coalition allies have criticized 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, was quick to condemn the shooting and called
off a protest rally planned for Wednesday evening. It has also urged
all politicians to avoid stoking tensions.
Since returning for the fourth time as prime minister last October,
Fico has shifted policy quickly.
As well as scaling back support for Ukraine and opening dialogue
with Russia, his government has sought to weaken punishments for
graft and dismantled a special prosecutor's office dealing with high
corruption.
Fico has long been critical of Slovakia's mainstream media, refusing
to speak to some outlets. Members of his party blasted media and
opposition actions in recent months.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet, Jan Lopatka, Radovan Stoklasa, Boldizsar
Gyori; Writing by Alan Charlish and Michael Kahn; Editing by Raju
Gopalakrishnan and Gareth Jones)
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