Slovakia’s leader shot, seriously injured in assassination attempt
Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot and seriously wounded Wednesday in what the government called an assassination attempt.
A post on the prime minister’s official and verified Facebook page said Fico was in “lifethreatening condition” after sustaining “multiple” gunshot wounds.
“The next few hours will decide,” the post said.
Local media reported that the attack unfolded in the central Slovak town of Handlova, where Fico, a veteran politician, had been meeting with supporters.
President Zuzana Caputova, whose position is largely ceremonial, condemned what she described as a “brutal and reckless attack.”
“I am shocked,” she wrote in a message on Facebook. “I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment to recover from the attack.”
The exact nature of Fico’s injuries was not immediately known. There was no immediate comment from the police.
Images from the scene published by the Reuters news agency showed what appeared to be members of Fico’s security detail running around a black sedan. Other photographs showed a person handcuffed on the ground at the scene.
Caputova, whose term ends in June, has used her limited powers to resist Fico’s drift toward Russia and his efforts to limit the judiciary’s ability to prosecute corruption.
Fico has aligned with Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orban in opposing aid to Ukraine and challenging mainstream opinions within the European Union.
On Wednesday, Orban was quick to send well wishes to Fico, whom he called “my friend.”
“We pray for his health and quick recovery,” Orban wrote on social media.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission who has butted heads with Fico in the past, also said she strongly condemned the “vile attack.”
“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” she wrote on social media.
Fico, who ended an earlier stint as prime minister by resigning in 2018 amid a swirl of corruption accusations, returned to power after a general election in September.