Slovak PM In 'very Serious' Condition After Assassination Attempt

Banska Bystrica, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2024) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's condition has stabilised but is still "very serious", his deputy said Thursday, as officials urged calm and a suspension of EU election campaigning a day after an attempt on Fico's life.

The shooting, which the government called a "political assault", stoked fears over heightened polarisation or even further violence just weeks before European parliament elections.

Slovakia's politics have been divided for years between pro-Europeans and nationalist-leaning camps, with the latest elections heavily influenced by disinformation, mutual accusations and attacks on social media.

"I am calling on all political parties in Slovakia to temporarily suspend or considerably reduce their European election campaign," Slovak president-elect Peter Pellegrini told reporters.

Pellegrini, Fico's ally who will assume office in June, said Slovakia should avoid "further confrontation" in a joint statement with the outgoing president Zuzana Caputova.

The two politicians represent rival political camps but Caputova said they wanted "to send a signal of understanding in this tense situation" as she urged an end to "the vicious circle of hatred".

Surgeons spent hours in the operating theatre, battling to save the 59-year-old leader after the shooting, which happened as Fico spoke to members of the public after a meeting.

Deputy prime minister Robert Kalinak said doctors stabilised Fico's condition, "but unfortunately, his condition is still very serious as the injuries are complicated."

The director of the Banska Bystrica hospital, where the Slovak premier was transported by helicopter after sustaining gunshot wounds, said Fico underwent a "five-hour surgery carried out by two teams".

Footage of events just after the shooting showed security agents grabbing a wounded Fico from the ground and hustling him into a black car. Other police handcuffed a man on the pavement nearby.

Police detained a suspect at the site of the attack in Handlova, President Zuzana Caputova said.

Kalinak said earlier the attack was "a political assault".

Fico, whose party won the general election last September, is a four-time prime minister and political veteran accused of swaying his country's foreign policy in favour of the Kremlin.