Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was critically injured in an assassination attempt, has regained consciousness and is in "serious but stable condition" a day after being shot several times by a "lone wolf" gunman in an attack that has sent shock waves across the country and Europe as a whole.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters on May 16 that it is still too early to say whether the 59-year-old Slovak leader would recover from the attack because of "the extent of the injuries caused by four gunshot wounds."
But some positive signs could be seen, President-elect Peter Pellegrini told reporters after visiting Fico.
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Slovakia In Shock Day After Attempted Assassination Of Leader
"He is able to speak but only a few sentences and then he is really tired because he is on some medication," Pellegrini, a key ally of the prime minister, added.
Hospital officials in the central Slovak city of Banska Bystrica said the 59-year-old populist leader underwent five hours of surgery performed by two teams of doctors late on May 15 on multiple gunshot wounds that left Fico fighting for his life.
"During the night doctors managed to stabilize the patient's condition," Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters gathered at the hospital where Fico was being treated.
"Unfortunately, his condition is still very serious as the injuries are complicated," Kalinak, who is also the defense minister and a close ally of Fico in his Smer-SD party, said, adding the attack had a "political motive."
WATCH: 'An Attack On Democracy': Leaders Condemn Shooting Of Slovak PM Fico
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'An Attack On Democracy': Leaders Condemn Shooting Of Slovak PM Fico
Local media reported on May 16 that police have charged Fico's suspected attacker, who was subdued by security officers within seconds of the shooting, with attempted murder. The suspect's name has not been released, but reports said he is a 71-year-old man.
"This is a lone wolf who had radicalized himself recently after the presidential election (in April)," Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said, adding that an initial investigation showed there was “a clear political motivation” behind the attack on Fico.
The shooting has rattled the nation of around 5 million people in the heart of Central Europe, and comes after a particularly bruising and polarizing election campaign last year that propelled Fico to the prime minister's office for the fourth time.
"When I first found out this information, I was really surprised and really sad about this because I think that this is not the resolution," a woman told RFE/RL in Bratislava on May 16. "People shouldn’t act like this and this conflict I hope will end and people will accept each other."
Another woman said that situation is "really horrible for everyone involved, for our country, for its head, and for his family mainly."
President Zuzana Caputova called on May 16 for an end to a "vicious circle of hatred" sweeping Slovakia.
"Let's step out of the vicious circle of hatred and mutual accusations. What happened yesterday was an individual act, but the tense atmosphere of hatred has been our collective work," she said in a statement.
Fico was shot several times from close range as he walked to greet a small crowd following a government meeting in the town of Handlova, nearly 200 kilometer northeast of the capital, Bratislava.
Robert Fico speaks at a press conference shortly before the shooting incident on May 15.
Video from the scene showed Fico approach the crowd of mainly elderly people when several shots rang out. He then slumped backward to the ground. Secret service officers quickly rushed to his aid and carried him to a car that sped off toward a local medical facility before he was airlifted to a hospital in Banska Bystrica.
Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba later told the BBC in an interview late on May 15 that "fortunately, as far as I know the operation went well -- and I guess in the end he will survive...he's not in a life threatening situation at this moment."
"He was heavily injured -- one bullet went thought the stomach and the second one hit the joint -- immediately he was transported to the hospital and then to the operation," Taraba said.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters that an initial investigation showed there was “a clear political motivation” behind the attack on Fico.
The shooting has been condemned by leaders around the world who expressed shock that a peaceful democracy like Slovakia would be the place of such a crime.
"This is terrible for everyone involved. For the country, for its head, for his family mainly," a woman in Bratislava told RFE/RL.
The shooting also has been condemned by leaders around the world who expressed shock that a peaceful democracy like Slovakia would be the place of such a crime.
"Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the "news of the cowardly assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico shocks me deeply. Violence must have no place in European politics."
U.S. President Joe Biden said he was alarmed by the reports of the attack on Fico. He said he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, were praying for a swift recovery, "and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia."
Biden also said in a statement that he condemned "this horrific act of violence" and said the U.S. Embassy "is in close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced the attack, saying that every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country.
A populist who has taken several extreme policy positions over the years, Fico has been a critic of military support for Ukraine in its battle to repel Russian troops.
His coalition government halted Slovak shipments of weapons for Kyiv and opposes sanctions against Moscow for the Ukraine invasion. Fico has also said he would veto any move to invite Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination attempt "a despicable crime" in a message to Caputova.
Analysts said the attack on Fico pointed to the deep political polarization in Slovakia that has emerged over the past year. They added that the EU member was not alone in experiencing such divisiveness, with many countries across Europe being in a similar situation.
Since the election, Fico’s government, which includes the far-right nationalist SNS party, has taken several decisions that have sparked protests and accusations from the opposition that the prime minister was eroding democratic institutions to tighten his grip on power.
Slovakia's largest opposition party had planned a protest against government reforms to the public broadcaster later on May 15, but canceled the event due to the shooting.
The rally was called because last month Fico’s cabinet backed a Culture Ministry proposal to abolish the existing Radio and Television of Slovakia and replace it with a new body, Slovak Television and Radio.
The new entity’s director-general is to be chosen by a council comprised of members appointed by the cabinet and the Fico-controlled parliament.
Last year, parliament approved a plan to close the special prosecutor’s office that oversaw sensitive corruption cases and serious crimes, raising concerns in the EU that Fico was eroding the rule of law in the country.
Fico said the office had abused its authority.