A day after being wounded numerous times, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was speaking on Thursday, but he was also exhausted and in a “very difficult condition,” the president-elect stated after seeing his ally.
He can speak, but only a few sentences at a time, and after that he is exhausted beyond belief. Outside the hospital, President-elect Peter Pellegrini told reporters, “The situation is very critical.”
Following the shooting, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon while Fico was giving a public speech following a meeting, doctors battled for hours in the operating room to rescue the 59-year-old leader.
Security personnel were seen on camera removing a wounded Fico from the ground and hurriedly putting him into a black sedan in the moments immediately following the shooting. A man was handcuffed by other officers on the nearby pavement.
The prime minister’s health has stabilized, but it was still “very serious” the day after the violence that raised grave concerns about things getting worse in the divisive country.
Authorities said that the attack was instigated by an ally of Fico’s election victory last month and charged an alleged shooter with attempting to kill the Slovak PM.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok declared, “This is a lone wolf whose actions were accelerated after the presidential elections since he was dissatisfied with its outcome.”
The Fico ally who prevailed in April, Pellegrini, encouraged political parties to cease their campaigning ahead of the EU parliament election in June and advocated calm. The centrist Progressive Slovakia leader, who leads the largest opposition party, declared that his organization had already completed the task.
Slovakia’s politics have been split for years between nationalist and pro-European factions, with misinformation and verbal abuse on social media having a significant impact on the most recent elections.
Pellegrini, who takes office in June, and outgoing President Zuzana Caputova issued a joint statement in which they advised Slovakia to refrain from “further confrontation.”
While calling for an end to “the vicious circle of hatred,” Caputova stated that the two legislators, who represent opposing political factions, wished to “send a signal of understanding.”
Residents of Banska Bystrica denounced the attack, causing shock and indignation to mix outside the hospital. Student Nina Stevulova, 18, expressed her fear that such assaults will happen again.
“There’s no reason to take such actions. Former professional driver Karol Reichl told AFP, “Feel free to throw a tomato or an egg at him or scold him that ‘You are a thief or a murderer’.” The 69-year-old warned, “But don’t come with a gun and shoot.”
