Slovakia\u2019s Prime Minister Robert Fico was hospitalized on Wednesday after he was shot five times in an assassination attempt that shocked the country. <\/p>\n
The attack took place after an off-site government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. The suspected gunman was among a small crowd of people waiting to greet the prime minister on the street outside the cultural center, where the meeting took place, local media reported. <\/p>\n
Footage from the scene shows the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside. Fico was taken to a local hospital and then transferred by helicopter to a major trauma center about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away in Banska Bystrica. No one else was injured in the attack, officials said. <\/p>\n
Both the country\u2019s Defense Minister Robert Kali\u0148\u00e1k and Interior Minister Mat\u00fa\u0161 \u0160utaj E\u0161tok called the shooting \u201cpolitically motivated,\u201d with \u0160utaj E\u0161tok saying that \u201cthe suspect made the decision to do it shortly after the presidential election.\u201d <\/p>\n
Slovakian deputy Prime Minister Tom\u00e1\u0161 Taraba said he believed the prime minister would survive following surgery that \u201cwent well\u201d and was \u201cnot in a life-threatening situation at this moment.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI was very shocked and tried to contact people to figure out how serious his condition was,\u201d Taraba said in an interview with BBC\u2019s Newshour program on Wednesday, recalling the moment he heard about Fico\u2019s shooting. <\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately, as far as I know the operation went well and I guess in the end he will survive,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Taraba told the BBC that Fico \u201cwas heavily injured\u201d and a bullet \u201cwent through the stomach and the second one hit the joints.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fico is the most powerful lawmaker in Slovakia. Unlike the president, whose role has limited scope, the prime minister holds rank as the decision-making head of government. <\/p>\n
The official statement posted on Fico\u2019s official Facebook said the PM was taken to Banska Bystrica instead of the capital city of Bratislava because \u201can acute intervention\u201d was necessary. Handlova is about two hours\u2019 drive from the capital Bratislava. <\/p>\n
Slovak President Zuzana \u010caputov\u00e1 said the suspected gunman was detained by the police. She said law enforcement agencies will release more information when they can and asked the public not to spread unconfirmed rumors. <\/p>\n
\u010caputov\u00e1 condemned what she called a \u201cbrutal and reckless\u201d attack on the 59-year-old politician. <\/strong>Speaking at a news conference later in the afternoon, she said the shooting was \u201can attack on democracy as well.\u201d <\/p>\n Slovakia\u2019s defense and interior ministers blamed rising hate speech and division for the political atmosphere in the country, which they said led to the assassination attempt. <\/p>\n Speaking to reporters in front of the hospital where Fico is being treated, Defense Minister Kali\u0148\u00e1k said: \u201cHate is not an answer to hate.\u201d Visibly shaken and struggling for words at multiple moments during the news conference, Kali\u0148\u00e1k said it was \u201ctime for some people to have a hard look into the mirror.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThere is no question that this was politically motivated. The inability to accept the choice of people, which some may not like \u2026 it leads to this,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Interior Minister \u0160utaj-E\u0161tok called for calm, saying \u201cthose who are endorsing this attack as well as those who are calling for some sort of a revenge. And I am asking you, the media too, please, use your power, your influence. Because until now, it was some of you who sow the hate,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Following the shooting, \u0160utaj-E\u0161tok said the country is \u201cexperiencing the worst day of its democracy.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in the 31 years of our democratic sovereign republic, someone has decided to express a political opinion not in an election but with a gun on the street,\u201d he wrote on Facebook. <\/p>\n Slovaks have been deeply divided over the country\u2019s direction and position in the world since Fico\u2019s return to power last year. Supporters see Fico as a caring leader who has their interests at heart; critics say he is a populist whose pro-Russian leanings pose major risks for the country. <\/p>\n The country has seen weeks of largely peaceful protests over his coalition government\u2019s controversial domestic reforms. The government is also trying to shut down public service broadcaster RTVS and plans to replace it with a new national broadcaster, which would be under tighter control of the government. <\/p>\n Social media footage appeared to show the moment Fico was attacked. As he approaches a crowd of people, a man is seen lunging towards Fico with what appears to be a gun pointed at him. Five shots are heard and Fico falls to the ground. <\/p>\n An eyewitness who was at the scene where Fico was shot said the attack felt like a \u201cnightmare\u201d after hearing three \u201cquick\u201d shots, fired one after the other as if you were to \u201cthrow a firecracker on the ground.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI heard three shots, it was quick one by one like if you throw a firecracker on the ground,\u201d eyewitness Lubica Valkova told Reuters, adding that \u201che (Fico) fell next to the barrier.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI think it is a nightmare, I\u2019ll tell you I think I will not wake up from this,\u201d the 66-year-old said. \u201cThat this is not possible to happen in Slovakia.\u201d <\/p>\n Valkova said she had been waiting a long time to shake Fico\u2019s hand and was taking pictures of him when he walked out of the building in Handlova. <\/p>\n \u201cAt this moment we heard something like a bang, we thought someone made a joke and threw a firecracker on the ground, that was my first reaction,\u201d Valkova recalled. <\/p>\n The Slovak resident told Reuters she had been waiting from 10 a.m. local time. She claimed police did not search people who were waiting at the event, adding that \u201cwe could have shown our empty hands.\u201d <\/p>\n In what was a stunning comeback for the controversial politician, Fico won a third term as Slovakian prime minister last October after running a campaign that criticized western support for Ukraine. As prime minister, he made a major U-turn in Slovakia\u2019s foreign policy and its previously staunch support for Ukraine: Fico had pledged an immediate end to Slovak military support for Ukraine and promised to block Ukraine\u2019s NATO ambitions. <\/p>\n Ahead of the election, Fico made no secret of his sympathies towards the Kremlin and blamed \u201cUkrainian Nazis and fascists\u201d for provoking Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Russia\u2019s president has used to justify his invasion. <\/p>\n While in opposition, Fico became a close ally of Hungary\u2019s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, especially when it came to criticism of the European Union. <\/p>\n Domestically, his coalition government is also pushing controversial reforms that have prompted weeks of large-scale peaceful protests. Attempts to overhaul the criminal justice system have been particularly controversial, as the government seeks to reduce penalties for corruption and has already abolished Slovakia\u2019s special prosecutor\u2019s office, which was tasked with investigating serious and politically sensitive corruption cases, including some that involved people connected to Fico and his party SMER (\u201cDirection \u2013 Social Democracy\u201d). <\/p>\n Fico previously served as Slovakia\u2019s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests over the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fianc\u00e9e, Martina Ku\u0161n\u00edrov\u00e1. Kuciak reported on corruption among the country\u2019s elite, including people directly connected to Fico and his party SMER. <\/p>\n World leaders immediately condemned the attack. <\/p>\n Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telegram to Slovakia\u2019s president that \u201cthere can be no justification for this monstrous crime\u201d and wished Fico a speedy and complete recovery. <\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: \u201cI strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good.\u201d <\/p>\n And Hungarian Prime Minister Orban added: \u201cI was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery!\u201d <\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed \u201csolidarity with the people of Slovakia\u201d following the \u201cappalling\u201d assault on Fico. <\/p>\n US President Joe Biden said he was \u201calarmed\u201d by the attempted assassination of Fico, calling it a \u201chorrific act of violence.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cJill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia,\u201d he said in a statement. <\/p>\n United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said he \u201cstrongly condemns the shocking attack.\u201d <\/p>\n This story has been updated with additional developments. <\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Slovakia\u2019s Prime Minister Robert Fico was hospitalized on Wednesday after he was shot five times…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Felt like a \u2018nightmare\u2019<\/h2>\n
Ally of Moscow<\/h2>\n