Slovak Prime Minister Fico in 'life threatening' condition, next hours decisive

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According to Deputy Prime Minister Tomáš Taraba, Robert Fico "is expected to recover" following surgery.

"Fortunately as far as I know the operation went well – and I guess in the end he will survive. He is not in a life-threatening situation at this moment," Taraba told the BBC.

As the journalists gathered around the makeshift podium at the Roosevelt Hospital in Banská Bystrica on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government ministers couldn’t hide their state of shock.

Fico, who was shot in an assassination attempt in Handlova earlier in the day, was being operated on in the nearby building for several hours, and the information was sparse.

“We can talk about whether you like the prime minister or not, he is fighting for his life,” a visibly rattled Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák said in his opening statement....

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Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok warned that the country was “on the edge of a civil war” from the political tension. “Such hateful comments are being made on social networks today, so please, let’s stop this immediately,” he said.

Slovakia ‘on the edge of civil war’ interior minister says

Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said his country teetering on the brink of civil war due to political tension. He urged an end to the spread of…

Slovak outgoing president Zuzana Caputova speaks during a press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova.

Rescue workers and policemen take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia.

News crews walk outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia.

•  Slovak President Robert Fico is in "serious" condition and "fighting for his life" according to the country's defence minister speaking outside a hospital in central Slovakia.
• Interior Miniter Matúš Šutaj-Eštok has said that an initial investigation into the attack showed a "clear political motivation."
• Leaders around the world from Putin to Biden have condemned the attack, and wished Fico a swift recovery.
• Local media has identified the suspect as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula.

Robert Fico's alleged shooter has been described as a security-guard and self-published writer who was publicly linked to the paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci.

What do we know about Robert Fico’s alleged shooter?

Slovakian media has described the shooter as a 71-year-old man who wrote poems and previously worked as a security guard.

Interior Miniter Matúš Šutaj-Eštok said that an initial investigation into the attack "shows a clear political motivation."

He said the incident "will haunt us for many years to come" during a press conference outside the hospital that is treating Robert Fico.

"Today is the saddest moment in the 31 years of history of Slovakia … An attack on the prime minister is an attack on democracy. It is an attack on the state itself," he said.

Slovakia’s defence minister, Robert Kaliňák, has said the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, is still undergoing surgery and is in “extraordinarily serious” condition.

Kaliňák, speaking during a press conference outside the hospital in Banská Bystrica said doctors were “fighting for the life” of Fico, who suffered from three shots.

He said Fico’s “health is serious, his situation is bad” and that authorities were putting their faith in doctors.

Kaliňák said Fico has been in surgery for for three and a half hours and that further information would be available later.

Putin has reacted to the shooting in a telegram to Slovak president Zuzana Caputova.

He commented, "There can be no justification for this monstrous crime. I know Robert Fico as a courageous and strong-minded man. I very much hope that these qualities will help him to survive this difficult situation."

US President Joe Bien has released a statement following the shooting of Robert Fico.

"I am alarmed to hear reports of an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia. We condemn this horrific act of violence. Our embassy is in close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist."

Mobile phones have been taken from medical staff at the emergency room in the central Slovakian city of Banská Bystrica to embargo information about Fico's health, according to Slovakian television channel Markíza.

Fico has undergone a CT scan, reported the local media.

According to Slovakian daily newspaper Denník N, Fico is still in the operating room.

He was taken to the hospital in Banská Bystrica by helicopter before 4 p.m local time.

Slovakia has experienced a handful of shooting incidents over the last few years.

Two years ago two people were killed following a shooting in front of LGBT venue Tepláreň, in central Bratislava.

The shock murder and angry public fallout of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová led to Fico's resignation as Prime Minister in 2018.

Slovak Interior Ministry's "Hoaxes and Frauds" Facebook page appealed to the public to keep calm and wait for confirmation from official sources.

"In connection with this event, a lot of information and calls for retaliation and escalation of violence have begun to spread in the information space. Therefore, we appeal to citizens to exercise restraint, not spread unverified information or support hatred and calls for violence," the ministry said.

The man who is accused of shooting the Slovakian Prime Minister is a 71-year-old writer from the western town of Levice, according to Slovakian media Markiza.

The man is named as Juraj C and shot the Prime Minister with a weapon that was legally purchased, said local media.

News website aktuality.sk quoted witnesses as saying the suspect first approached Fico for a handshake, after which shots were fired.

They added the suspect has previously published books of poetry and had worked for a private security service in 2016.

Aktuality.sk also reported that Fico has suffered three gunshot wounds: one in his abdomen and two on his arm.

A member of Fico's Smer Party Maroš Šefčovič has taken to X to express his reaction following the shooting.

He wrote: "The news of the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico struck me as a politician, a Slovakian citizen and also on a personal level, as his friend. 

It is difficult to find words to express shock and concern. I believe that today, as a society, we will stand up resolutely against hatred and attacks on democracy."

Šefčovič was nominated by Fico as Slovakia's EU commissioner in 2014. He is currently serving as Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal.

PM Robert Fico's coalition government approved a measure in late April which would overhaul the country’s public radio and television services.

The proposed changes would mean the public broadcaster known as RTVS would cease to exist and be replaced by a new organisation.

Thousands rally in Slovakia to protest overhaul of public broadcaster

Critics worry Slovakia under PM Robert Fico will abandon its pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under his populist counterpart Viktor Orbán.

 Writing on X, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz writes calls the attack on Fico a "cowardly assassination attempt".

"Violence must have no place in European politics. In these moments, I think of Robert Fico, his loved ones and the citizens of Slovakia."

German Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economy Robert Habeck also responded to the attack on Fico at the beginning of his speech on the floor of the German Bundestag in Berlin. Speaking there, he wished Fico a speedy recovery.

Euronews understands Fico was conscious when he was taken to a hospital in the town of Handlova and was treated for bullet wounds.

He has since been transported to a higher-level facility.

The populist leader is well known to voters, having served four terms as the country's prime minister.

Born into a working class family Fico trained as a lawyer before beginning his political career with the Communist party.

He set up his own centre-left Smer-SD party in 1999, winning a landslide victory in 2006.

In 2018, he was forced to resign following the murder of an investigative journalist and subsequent public outcry.

Fico has previously expressed sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban.

He has labelled sanctions against Moscow "useless" and said he will not send weapons to Ukraine. Fico has also openly criticised Ukraine's application to join NATO.

He most recently received pushback for pledging to introduce a law labelling NGOs in Slovakia as foreign agents if they are funded from abroad.

 World leaders have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to react to the shooting of Slovak PM Robert Fico, who government officials say is in "life threatening" condition.

"The attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico is an attack on democracy," wrote Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

There is no justification for this kind of violence."

I wish my colleague a speedy recovery."

Our thoughts are with his family and friends and the people of Slovakia."

Spanish President Pedro Sánchez expressed his horror at the attack, and "Nothing can ever justify violence."

UK PM Rishi Sunak wrote "Shocked to hear this awful news. All our thoughts are with Prime Minister Fico and his family."

Also writing on X, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni called the attack "cowardly".

"I wish to express the strongest condemnation of any form of violence and attack on the cardinal principles of democracy and freedom," she wrote.

President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides said he was "profoundly shocked" at the attempt on Fico's life. "My best wishes for speedy and smooth recovery dear Robert."

We will continue to bring you reactions as the story develops.