Slovak PM Fico seriously injured in assassination attempt

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting. “He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition,” according to his official social media.

He has been taken to hospital in Banska Bystrica in Slovakia’s Tatra mountains. It’s an indication of the seriousness of his injuries that it was thought too long a flight to take him to the capital, Bratislava, from the scene of the shooting at Handlova, in the Trenčin region.

It’s believed that the Prime Minister’s injuries include four bullet wounds and it’s been variously reported that he was hit in the head, chest and stomach. A suspect has been detained following the apparent assassination attempt. Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova has condemned it as “a brutal and ruthless” attack. “I’m shocked” said the President, “I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack”.

President-elect Peter Pellegrini, who is a political ally of Mr Fico's, said it is an “unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted in social media that “such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico [and] his family”.

Robert Fico returned to power last year fro his third term as Prime Minister. His pro-Russia campaign slogans prompted fears that he would position Slovakia as an ally of Hungary under its populist leader Viktor Orbán.

Thousands of protesters have taken part in a series of demonstrations in Bratislava against his policies. Parliament was sitting as news of the attack broke and a party colleague of Mr Fico's shouted at opposition MPs, accusing them of fuelling the attack.

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