Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a “life-threatening condition” following a shooting, as stated on his official social media account. The statement, released on Wednesday, described the incident as an “assassination attempt” in which Fico, 59, was shot “multiple times”. Local reports indicate he was struck in the abdomen by several bullets in the town of Handlova. The area has been secured by police, and a suspect is in custody, according to reports from the Dennik N news outlet and Slovakian television station TA3.
The shooting took place following Fico’s attendance at a government meeting in Handlova. He was initially taken to a local hospital and later airlifted to Banska Bystrica for emergency medical care.
President Zuzana Caputova condemned the attack on the prime minister, calling it “brutal and ruthless.”
“I’m shocked,” Caputova said. “I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack.”
“If we express other political opinions with pistols in squares, and not in polling stations, we are jeopardising everything that we have built together over 31 years of Slovak sovereignty,” Pellegrini said.
The attack occurred just three weeks before important European Parliament elections, where populist and right-wing parties in the 27-nation bloc seem likely to gain ground.
European leaders, including Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, expressed their shock at the incident.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the attack.
“I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico and his family,” she said on X.
I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good.
My thoughts are with PM Fico and his family.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 15, 2024
The Slovak government convened in Handlova, 190 km (118 miles) northeast of Bratislava, on Wednesday as part of a regional tour following their rise to power late last year.
Fico, serving his third term as prime minister, led his leftist Smer, or Direction, party to victory in Slovakia’s September 30 parliamentary elections, marking a political resurgence with a campaign focused on pro-Russian and anti-US rhetoric.
Throughout his political career, Fico has adeptly navigated between pro-European mainstream views and nationalistic anti-EU and anti-US stances, often adjusting his positions based on public sentiment and political realities.
In the past four years, he has adopted more extreme views, including harsh criticism of Western allies, promises to halt military aid to Kyiv, opposition to sanctions on Russia, and threats to veto any potential NATO membership for Ukraine.
Critics fear that Slovakia under Fico might follow Hungary’s path under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Thousands have consistently protested against Fico’s policies in the capital and across Slovakia.
Alena Kudzko, vice president of the security policy think tank Globsec, stated that the shooting was “definitely not something that anybody in Slovakia expected.”
Kudzko highlighted that the country has been polarized over the past year due to heightened political tensions, particularly in the lead-up to the elections.
“But nobody … called for violence in the country,” she told Al Jazeera. “Quite the opposite, everybody right now is trying to unite and send a coherent message, that political violence is not something that we support,” she added.