Prime minister of Slovakia had more surgery, still serious condition – Deputy PM

The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, had another surgery after being shot on Wednesday. He is still in serious condition, according to the country’s deputy prime minister and defense minister.

Fico, who is 59 years old, was attacked while he was saying hello to his supporters after a meeting with the government in the town of Handlova, which used to be a coal mining town. A person who is believed to have attacked someone has been taken into custody by the police.

Miriam Lapunikova, who is in charge of the hospital where Fico is being treated, said that Fico had a special X-ray and is now awake and in stable condition in the ICU. She said he was in really bad shape.

She said the surgery took out dead tissues that were still in Fico’s body.

“I believe we will need a few more days to know for sure which way things are going,” said Robert Kaliniak, the defence minister and deputy prime minister, to the reporters at the hospital.

Still, Kaliniak said that the government is still working.

“The government departments are doing all their jobs, nothing is stopped or paused, the country keeps moving forward,” he told the news. “The condition of the state and the patient is okay and not changing. ”

Fico has been a controversial figure in Slovakia and other places for a long time. Last year, when he came back into power, he supported Russia and opposed America. This made European Union and NATO members worried that he would stop following the pro-Western path for his country, especially concerning Ukraine.

Earlier on Friday, the man who tried to kill Fico was taken home by the police. The local news said it was part of a search for proof.

Markiza, a TV station from Slovakia, aired a video of the suspect being taken to his home in Levice on Friday morning. They also said that the police took a computer and some papers. The police did not say anything.

The police have been told not to share the suspect’s name or any other information about the case with the public. The person who is suspected of a crime will have their case looked at again in court on Saturday at the Specialized Criminal Court in Pezinok, Slovakia, which is near the capital city of Bratislava.

Unconfirmed news says he was a 71-year-old retired person who liked to write poems and might have worked as a security guard at a mall in the southwest of the country.

Government officials on Thursday provided information that was consistent with that description. They said the suspect wasn’t part of any political groups, but the attack was driven by political reasons.

Slovakia’s president wants to have a meeting with all the leaders of the political parties next Tuesday. President Zuzana Caputova, who is leaving her job soon, and the next president, Peter Pellegrini, made a plan to lessen problems between people in the country.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Slovakia supported Ukraine strongly. But when Fico became prime minister again for the fourth time, he stopped sending weapons to Ukraine.

Fico’s government has tried to change public broadcasting. Critics say this would let the government have complete control of public TV and radio. This, along with his plans to change the law to get rid of a special prosecutor who investigates corruption, has made some people concerned that Fico will make Slovakia more like a dictatorship.

Many people have gathered in the capital and across the country of 5. 4 million people to protest against his decisions.

Last month, Fico said on Facebook that he thought the increasing tensions in the country could cause politicians to be killed, and he said the media was making the tensions worse.

Before Fico came back into power last year, many of his friends in politics and business were being looked into by the police, and many of them have been accused of crimes.

He wants to change the penal system by getting rid of the special prosecutor who deals with organized crime, corruption and extremism.