Donald Lukele
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a stable but serious condition after being shot several times on Wednesday, doctors have said.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak added that Mr Fico’s injuries were “complicated”.
Earlier Mr Fico, 59, was said to have been fighting for his life after being gravely injured in the attack in the small town of Handlova.
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A suspect was detained at the scene of the shooting.
“During the night doctors managed to stabilise the patient’s condition,” Mr Kalinak, who is also the defence minister, said, adding: “Unfortunately the condition is still very serious as the injuries are complicated.”
Previously, another Deputy Prime Minister, Tomas Taraba, told the BBC Mr Fico’s surgery had gone “well” and “I guess that at the end he will survive”.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estoka described it as a politically motivated assassination attempt.
Mr Fico is a divisive figure at home – and controversial in the EU – for his calls to end military aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.
But condemnation of the shooting has come from far and wide and it has been described as an attack on democracy.
The gunman was in a small crowd of Fico supporters who were gathered outside a cultural centre in Handlova, where the prime minister had been holding a meeting.
The shooting took Mr Fico’s security officers completely by surprise. Footage shows the prime minister after he was shot being carried by several officers, who bundle him into a car and drive him away from the scene.
[11:20, 5/16/2024] The Master Mind: The gunman fired five shots at close range and Mr Fico was hit in the stomach and in the arm.
Following the shooting, he was rushed to hospital and spent several hours in surgery “fighting for his life”, according to Mr Kalinak.
The shooting came on the day parliament began discussing the government’s proposal to abolish Slovakia’s public broadcaster RTVS.
Thousands of Slovaks have protested against the proposed reform of the public broadcaster in recent weeks. However, a planned opposition-led demonstration was called off on Wednesday as news of the shooting emerged.
The health of the Prime Minister of Slovakia continues to improve after the shooting attack
