Slovak politicians are asking everyone to stay calm after Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot many times by someone who tried to kill him. This is very unusual and surprising because there is a lot of disagreement and fighting in Slovak politics.
Fico is in the hospital in stable condition after someone tried to hurt him. The whole country is shocked by what happened.
A person was caught by the police, and the Minister of the Interior, Matus Sutaj Estok, said on Wednesday that a first look into the case found that the attack on Fico had a strong political reason. This attack happened while he was at a government meeting in a town that used to have coal mines.
The minister did not say why they did it. Fico has been a controversial figure for a long time in Slovakia and other countries. When he came back into power last year with a message that supported Russia and opposed America, it made other European Union members even more concerned that he might change Slovakia’s support for Western countries.
The attack on Fico happened during a time when Slovakia was very divided. Many people have been protesting in the capital and across the country against Fico’s decisions. It comes right before the elections for the European Parliament in June.
Zuzana Caputova, who is the current President and does not get along with Fico, announced that the leaders of all the political parties in the country will meet to try to bring peace and stop violence.
“We want to urge everyone to be responsible,” Caputova said at a press conference in the city of Bratislava.
Caputova was talking with Peter Pellegrini, who supports Fico and will be the new president of Slovakia. They both asked people to try to calm down the angry feelings about politics in the country and to not let politics divide them.
“This assassination attempt should be strongly condemned by everyone,” Pellegrini said. “I ask everyone in Slovakia to stop or cut back on their campaigning for the European Parliament election. Campaigning can cause conflict, and Slovakia doesn’t need more conflict right now. ”
The government elected last September in Fico’s country has stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. They also want to change the rules to get rid of a special prosecutor who fights corruption and to control public media. His opponents are concerned that he will take Slovakia, a country of 5. 4 million people in NATO, in a direction with more control by a single leader.
Zuzana Eliasova, who lives in the capital city Bratislava, said the attack on Fico was a big surprise to the country and feels like an attack on democracy when there’s already a lot of political tension.
“I think many people or the entire society will think about their actions, because there has been a big divide among different groups in society,” she said.
Fico had a five-hour operation by doctors at the FD Roosevelt Hospital. At first, he was said to be in critical condition. This information was shared by Miriam Lapunikova, the hospital’s director. He is getting special care in a hospital.
Five bullets were shot outside a cultural center in Handlova, a town about 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital, according to government officials.
Slovakia’s security leaders were going to have a meeting in the capital city of Bratislava on Thursday to talk about the situation. After that, the government leaders would also have a meeting.
Fico became the prime minister of Slovakia again last year, after serving as prime minister twice before. People often say he and his Smer party are left-leaning populists, but some also think he is similar to politicians on the right like Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary.
Fico’s return made his critics worried that he and his party, which had a bad reputation because of scandal, would take Slovakia in a direction different from the Western countries. He said he would be strict about immigration and non-profit groups, and he also worked against LGBTQ2S+ rights.
Even though some people didn’t like Fico’s leadership, both his friends and enemies criticized the attack. On Wednesday, President Putin sent a message to President Caputova. He said he supports her and hopes the prime minister gets well soon.
“This terrible crime cannot be excused,” Putin said in a statement from the Kremlin. “I think Robert Fico is brave and determined. ” I really hope that his character traits will help him get through this tough situation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke out against the violence targeting another country’s leader.
“He said that we should try really hard to make sure that violence doesn’t become a regular thing in any country or area. “