Deputy Prime Minister Kalinak says Fico is stable following surgery after being shot five times in an assassination attempt.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico is stable but his condition remains “very serious”, his deputy said, following an assassination attempt that shocked the country and sparked global condemnation.
Fico, 59, was shot five times Wednesday in the central town of Handlova. He was in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery for several hours.
“During the night doctors managed to stabilize the patient's condition,” Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said Thursday.
“Unfortunately, the condition remains very serious because the injuries are complicated,” said Kalinak, who is also defense minister..
After the attack, a meeting of the State Security Council is scheduled for Thursday. The alleged attacker, a 71-year-old writer, was arrested.
Environment Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC on Thursday that the operation “had gone well”. He said one bullet passed through Fico's stomach and the second hit a joint during the attack after Fico left a government meeting.
The shooting was “politically motivated,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Wednesday.
“This murder [attempt] “It was politically motivated and the perpetrator's decision was born shortly after the presidential election,” said Sutaj Estok, referring to the April election won by Fico ally Peter Pellegrini.
Pellegrini described the attack as an “unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy.”
“If we express other political opinions in the squares and not in the polling stations, we are putting at risk everything we have built together during 31 years of Slovak sovereignty,” Pellegrini said.
Following the attack, Fico was rushed to a hospital in Handlova, but was flown by helicopter to the regional capital, Banska Bystrica, for urgent treatment.
Russia said it considered the attack “absolutely unacceptable.”
“This is really a great tragedy,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
Fico's European counterparts, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, condemned the shooting and wished him a full recovery.
The country of 5.4 million people has seen a polarized political debate in recent years, including last year's presidential election that helped Fico tighten his grip on power.
Since returning as prime minister last October, his government has reduced support for Ukraine while opening dialogue with Russia, sought to reduce punishments for corruption and is revamping public broadcaster RTVS despite a call to protect the media freedoms.
