Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a ‘life-threatening condition’ after being wounded in a shooting, according to his Facebook profile.
The message posted to his account just before 4pm on Wednesday (just before midnight AEST) said that Fico “has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition”.
“At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica [a city in central Slovakia], because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure,” the message said.
“The next few hours will decide.”
Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometres northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters.
A suspect has been detained, it said.
Slovakia’s interior minister says an initial investigation shows there was “a clear political motivation” behind the assassination attempt,
Matus Sutaj Estok spoke to reporters on Wednesday evening at the hospital where Prime Minister Fico was being treated.
“There’s no doubt about it,” Defense Minister Robert Kalinak added.
Kalinak said doctors were fighting for Fico’s life after he was shot multiple times following a political event.
The shooting in Slovakia comes three weeks ahead of crucial European Parliament elections, in which populist and hard-right parties in the 27-nation bloc appear poised to make gains.
Deputy speaker of parliament Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident during a session of Slovakia’s Parliament and adjourned it until further notice, the Slovak TASR news agency said.
Slovakia’s major opposition parties, Progressive Slovakia and Freedom and Solidarity, cancelled a planned protest against a controversial government plan to overhaul public broadcasting that they say would give the government full control of public radio and television.
“We absolutely and strongly condemn violence and today’s shooting of Premier Robert Fico,” said Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka.
“At the same time we call on all politicians to refrain from any expressions and steps which could contribute to further increasing the tension.”
President Zuzana Caputova condemned “a brutal and ruthless” attack on the premier.
“I’m shocked,” Caputova said.
“I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack.”
Fico, a third-time premier, and his leftist Smer, or Direction, party, won Slovakia’s September 30 parliamentary elections, staging a political comeback after campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American message.
Critics worried Slovakia under Fico would abandon the country’s pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s policies.
Condemnations of political violence quickly came from leaders across Europe, although no motive for the attack was immediately apparent.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned what she described as a “vile attack”.
“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” von der Leyen said in a post on X.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala called the incident “shocking”.
“I wish the premier to get well soon. We cannot tolerate violence, there’s no place for it in society,” she said.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia formed Czechoslovakia until 1992.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on the social media network X: “Shocking news from Slovakia. Robert, my thoughts are with you in this very difficult moment.”
