May 15th 2024.
Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, was wounded in a shooting on Wednesday afternoon and has been taken to the hospital for treatment. According to reports from TA3, a TV station in Slovakia, Fico, who is 59 years old, was shot in the stomach when four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova. He was in the midst of a meeting with supporters when the incident occurred. The assailant has been apprehended by the police.
The shooting took place in Handlova, a town about 150 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Bratislava. As a result, the police have cordoned off the area and Fico has been transported to a hospital in Banska Bystrica for medical attention. This incident has taken place just three weeks before the crucial European Parliament elections, where populist and hard-right parties are expected to gain significant support in the 27-nation bloc.
During a session of Slovakia's Parliament, Deputy Speaker Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident and adjourned the session until further notice, as reported by the Slovak TASR news agency. In light of the shooting, the major opposition parties, Progressive Slovakia and Freedom and Solidarity, have canceled a planned protest against the government's proposed changes to public broadcasting, which they believe will give the government excessive control over public radio and television.
Michal Simecka, the leader of Progressive Slovakia, strongly condemned the violence and the attack on Premier Robert Fico. He also urged all politicians to refrain from making any statements or taking actions that could further escalate the tension in the country. President Zuzana Caputova also condemned the attack, calling it "brutal and ruthless." She expressed her shock and wished Fico a speedy recovery.
Fico, who is serving his third term as prime minister, and his leftist party, Smer, won the parliamentary elections in Slovakia in September 2019. This victory marked a political comeback for Fico, who ran his campaign on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform. However, many critics have expressed concern that his leadership may lead Slovakia away from its pro-Western stance and towards the path of Hungary, under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In response, thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest against Fico's policies.
Leaders from across Europe have also condemned the violence and expressed their support for Fico. However, the motive behind the attack is still unclear. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced the "vile attack" and stated that such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine our democracy. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also expressed his shock and wished Fico a speedy recovery, emphasizing that violence has no place in society. Moreover, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, called the news of the shooting "shocking" and offered his support to Fico and the people of Slovakia.
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