Slovak PM shot in assassination attempt

by Mick the Ram

Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister, has received multiple gunshot wounds in an assassination attempt and his condition is said to be life-threatening.

The 59-year-old had been attending a cabinet meeting in the town of Handlova, around 180km (118 miles) northeast of the country’s capital, Bratislava.

As many as five shots were fired from the crowd and eyewitnesses say the PM fell to the ground and was initially loaded into a vehicle by his security team, before being transferred to a helicopter to be air-lifted to a nearby hospital, where he is receiving emergency surgery for bullet trauma.

Police were able to detain a man at the scene immediately after the incident. It was reported the perpetrator was a 71year-old from a village in central Slovakia.

Mr Fico returned to power after elections last September, at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition. He leads the populist Smer-SSD party and pledged to halt military aid to Ukraine, although he denies being pro-Russian.

Slovakia’s outgoing president Zuzana Caputova said she was shocked calling it a “brutal and ruthless attack on democracy”.

International reaction has poured in with messages from the likes of: Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Olaf Scholz.

Shot while shaking hands with public

Robert Fico was in the act of greeting people in front of a cultural community centre in the central Slovak town of Handlova, when he was hit by a stream of bullets. After arriving at hospital he was rushed into surgery where he is said to be in a critical condition.

Fighting for his life

Matus Sutaj Estok, Minister of Interior, says Mr Fico was shot in the stomach and added that he believed that it was politically motivated. Robert Kalinak, from the Ministry of Defence, stated that the PM is still in surgery and fighting for his life, adding that his health is “really serious” and the “situation is bad”.

He continued to remark that the people of Slovakia have always been known as tolerant, and they have always been able to discuss matters, but this would leave a stigma which would haunt the country for many years to come.

“Sounded like a firecracker”

Witness Lubica Valkova was taking pictures of Mr Fico when he walked out of the building and said she had hoped to shake hands with him when she described hearing a bang. “I heard three shots, it was quick one by one like if you throw a firecracker on the ground.”

International reaction

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack vile, whilst the Prime Minister of near neighbour Czech Republic, Petr Fiala said the shooting is “shocking” and sent wishes for a quick recovery.

US President Biden condemned the “horrific act of violence” saying they were ready to assist if needed and Russian president Vladimir Putin remarked that there could be “no justification for this monstrous crime”.

The UK’s PM Rishi Sunak reacted by saying his thoughts were with Mr Fico and his family and

German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, called the assassination attempt “cowardly” and said the incident “shocked me greatly” before adding that “violence must have no place in European politics”.

The President-elect and Fico ally Peter Pellegrini said he was “horrified” at where hatred for a different political opinion could lead and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky labelled the attack “appalling” and demanded that efforts be made “to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere”.

Rumours begin on motivation behind attack

Mr Fico has been very open about his stance on the Russia/Ukraine war and has said on record that not a single round of ammunition would be sent to aid the Ukrainians, sparking immediate rumours that this could be the motivation of the attack.

Political turmoil

Slovakia is currently experiencing a period of political turmoil with Mr Fico’s government proposing to abolish their public broadcaster, and replace it with an institution that opponents fear will be far more passive towards him and his allies within the populist-nationalist coalition.

The proposal had led to mass demonstrations with fears of serious corruption and organised crime.