Slovak Prime Minister’s condition remains serious but prognosis positive after assassination attempt

BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was still in serious condition on Sunday, but his prognosis was positive four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that sent shockwaves through this deeply-rooted country. polarized part of the European Union, declared the Minister of Defense.

“The worst of what we feared is over, at least for now. But his condition remains serious,” Robert Kalinak told reporters outside the hospital where Fico is being treated. “His condition is stable with a positive prognosis.”

Kalinak added that the hospital treating the Slovak leader in Banská Bystrica, a former mining town of 16,000 located 29 kilometers from where Fico was attacked, will continue to issue updates on his health. .

Milan Urbáni, deputy director of the hospital, told the press: “Based on the morning consultation of doctors, we can conclude that the patient is currently out of a life-threatening condition. His condition remains very serious and it takes a long time for him to heal. rest to recover. We firmly believe that everything will go in the right direction.

Fico, 59, was shot in the abdomen while greeting supporters Wednesday outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova, nearly 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital, Bratislava. The video shows the Slovak prime minister approaching people gathered in front of the barricades and reaching out to shake hands as a man stepped forward, stretched out his arm and fired five bullets before being tackled and arrested.

Fico underwent a two-hour surgery Friday to remove dead tissue from his gunshot wounds, but he was not healthy enough to be transferred to the capital, officials said Saturday.

The Specialized Criminal Court in the city of Pezinok on Saturday ordered the alleged attacker, accused of attempted murder, to remain behind bars. Prosecutors said they feared he could flee or commit other crimes if released, a court spokesman said. The suspect can appeal the order.

Little information about the would-be killer has been released after prosecutors asked police not to publicly identify him or release details about the case. Unconfirmed media reports named him as a 71-year-old retiree known as an amateur poet who may have once worked as a shopping mall security guard.

Government officials have given details that match this description. They said the suspect did not belong to any political group, although the attack itself was politically motivated.

Fico said on Facebook last month that he believed growing tensions in the country could lead to the deaths of political officials, and he accused the media of fueling tensions in the country of 5.4 million people. .

In his speech on Sunday, Kalinak also stressed that lessons should be learned from the violent attack on Fico, who has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. “This must be a memory. If we don’t learn, we are headed to hell,” he said. “We need to bring this situation back to what we can consider standard.”

President-elect Peter Pellegrini, a Fico ally, said on Sunday that Slovakia was a “wounded country” following the assassination attempt.

“In these difficult times, each of us decides through our actions whether these wounds will heal or whether other wounds will make them worse,” he said in a video posted on Facebook.

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Stanislav Hodina in Prague, Czech Republic, and Stephen McGrath in Side, Turkey, contributed to this report.