PM Fico shot as he speaks to supporters in Handlová (2024)

Populist four-time Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer), 59, was shot after Wednesday's government meeting in Handlová, a mining town in Trenčín Region.

The Denník N daily broke the news shortly before 15:00 on Wednesday.

A single shooter fired at the premier outside the town's cultural centre, where the government was holding a meeting. Five gunshots were heard as Fico conversed with supporters outside the building. Fico then fell to the ground.

"There was a crowd of people waiting outside and one of them started shooting," Slovak journalist Juraj Búry described the scene, as quoted by the Hospodárske Noviny daily.

"Today, Robert Fico was the victim of an assassination attempt. He was wounded multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition," reads a Wednesday post on Fico's official Facebook page.

The prime minister was airlifted from a local hospital in Handlová to the main hospital in Banská Bystrica, central Slovakia, soon after the incident. His surgery lasted for five hours. There was little information on his condition in the hours following the attack, other than that it was stable, but critical.

"The patient had sustained multiple gunshot wounds," F. D. Roosevelt Hospital Head Miriam Lapuníková said on Thursday morning.

It is thought that three of five shots hit him, two in the stomach and one in the arm.

"The condition is still very serious due to the complexity of the injuries," Defence Minister and one of the three deputy prime ministers Robert Kaliňák of the Smer party said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested an alleged shooter. According to TV Joj, the gunman is a 71-year-old man from Levice, a town in southern Slovakia. Based on social media posts and media reports, the shooter is said to be amateur poet Juraj C. The former miner was the victim of a physical assault several years ago. At the same time, the man established a civic organisation called Hnutie Proti Násiliu (Movement Against Violence) in the past, writes Aktuality.sk. According to Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, Juraj C. was also associated with a pro-Russian paramilitary group, Slovenskí Branci, (Slovak Conscripts), which ceased to exist in 2022.

The wanted Slovak anti-Semite and online personality Daniel Bombic (Danny Kollar), who is currently in hiding in England, has published the full name of the alleged gunman, including his identification card, on social media. Several media also used the full name of the man, who appears to have been acting alone.

The police and bodyguards have been criticised for failing to protect the premier and allowing the shooter to get close to him.

The coalition blames journalists and opposition politicians

In Bratislava, pro-Russian Smer MP and deputy speaker of parliament Ľuboš Blaha suspended the session of parliament that was taking place on Wednesday afternoon, citing news of the shooting in Handlová. Blaha, who was chairing the session at a time of the Handlová shooting, blamed the opposition for the suspected assassination attempt.

"This is your fault," he told opposition MPs.

Subsequently, during a press conference, he blamed the media, stating "Because of you [liberal media], the four-time prime minister Robert Fico, the most significant statesman in Slovakia's modern history, is currently fighting for his life."

Parliament is scheduled to reconvene next Tuesday, May 21. For now, public access to parliament has been suspended.

A criticised bill on public broadcasting, which would dissolve the current broadcaster, RTVS, and establish a new, government-friendly state broadcaster, STVR, was discussed by MPs on Wednesday.

Another anti-government protest had been scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening in Bratislava, but was cancelled by the opposition following the attack. In recent months, nationwide demonstrations have been held throughout the country in opposition to the government's efforts to undermine the rule of law, cancel the public broadcaster, and target NGOs.

The government's moves during recent months may also have been a motive behind the alleged gunman's shooting, a short video appearing on social media shows. The video, which appears to be of the suspect after his arrest, was most likely made by a police officer.

"I do not agree with the government," the man in the video says.

Fico's coalition partner and Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko blamed the opposition and several media outlets (Aktuality, Denník N and Sme) for the attack.

"Those who have wished for something like this, are you pleased?" Danko asked, noting that he anticipated such an assault on a political figure.

Fico himself expected an attack on a government politician. He talked about it in a video after this year's presidential election, when polarisation in society seemed to reach yet another peak.

Danko also mentioned on Wednesday that "a political war" has begun for his party, warning that the coalition's relationship with the media and the opposition will change. He did not provide any further details.

Some coalition politicians, including the premier, Blaha and Danko, have been attacking journalists repeatedly over recent months. On Wednesday, without any obvious reason, Danko suddenly told TV Markíza journalist Viktor Serebryakov to return his press card. Earlier this year, RTVS journalist Marta Jančkárová received death threats after an incident in public radio involving Blaha. For months, the coalition has been boycotting media outlets they regard as critical, including TV Markíza, the Sme daily, the Denník N daily, and the Aktuality.sk news website. Over the years, Fico himself has called journalists "pigs", "hyenas", "snakes", "toilet spiders" and "dirty anti-Slovak prostitutes".

In 2018, investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were killed in their home. Kuciak's stories about corruption prompted the police to begin investigating high-level corruption, which in turn led to key figures from previous Fico governments. Fico himself faced criminal charges in 2022. He had been forced to step down as prime minister in 2018 following mass protests in the wake of the murders. In 2022, two queer people were murdered outside a gay bar in Bratislava. The original target of the then shooter was the prime minister at that time, Eduard Heger. Because Heger turned out to be too difficult a target, the extremist decided to kill queer people instead.

Several former Slovak premiers, including Heger, have already condemned the attack on Fico, urging people to stop spreading hate.

"I am appalled. The hatred that is being spread in an intolerable way should be stopped. Please, let's stop," former prime minister Iveta Radičová, who is now an academic, told TV Joj.

Attack on democracy, says the president

President Zuzana Čaputová strongly condemned the "brutal and reckless" attack on the prime minister, calling it an attack on democracy.

"I am shocked," she said, sending her sincerest wishes to Fico at this crucial moment. "The hateful rhetoric we witness in society leads to hateful acts. Please let's stop it!"

Čaputová herself has been exposed to a number of threats, including verbal attacks coming from the ruling coalition and Fico himself. In January 2024, he called her a "rat".

Čaputová's term will end in mid June, when she will be replaced by Hlas party leader and Fico ally Peter Pellegrini. The country's three main political institutions – parliament, the presidency, and the government – would then essentially be under Fico's control.

"I am appalled at where hatred of a different political opinion can lead," said Pellegrini. "If we express other political opinions with guns in the squares, and not in the polling stations, we threaten everything that we have built together during the 31 years of Slovak sovereignty."

Political analyst Miroslav Řádek told RTVS that similar attacks might happen again.

"Tomorrow, opposition politicians might be shot at. If that happens, it won't be a surprise," he said, emphasising that politicians, including Fico, are to blame for the escalating animosity and polarisation in the country. "This [shooting] is the consequence."

Opposition figures condemn the attack

Although Fico’s Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS) has written on social media that the opposition has blood on its hands, the opposition has expressed uniform condemnation of the attack on the prime minister.

“We unequivocally condemn any violence,” said Michal Šimečka, the leader of the opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS).

He declared that his party will cease all political activities, including demonstrations and political campaigns. The attack on Fico occurred less than a month before the European elections.

PS stressed that the alleged gunman is not a PS member, as some people had claimed on social media.

“Attacking the prime minister, whatever our political opinion, is unacceptable,” added Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Branislav Gröhling. He added that the battle of political opinions should take place in discussions and with words, not in the street and with weapons. His colleague Mária Kolíková asserted that the attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico is an attack on the country, on Slovakia’s internal security.

Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) leader Milan Majerský said that Slovakia cannot tolerate such behaviour in a civilised society towards anyone.

“At this moment, it is necessary to do everything to calm the society,” Majerský said.

However, unlike the opposition, representatives of the coalition keep blaming opposition politicians for the attack.

“Are you satisfied with what you say at [anti-government] protests,” said former MP Romana Tabak. She is running in the European elections for the SNS. Tabak disrupted a press conference held by PS on Wednesday, stating: “Today, the political situation in Slovakia has changed.”

Former foreign minister and diplomat Ivan Korčok, who lost to Pellegrini in the April presidential election after a campaign marked by a smear campaign launched by his opponents, criticised coalition politicians for adding fuel to the fire after the attack. He also asked why a session of the Security Council had not immediately taken place.

"So far, obviously, everyone is on social networks and revelling in fiction on Facebook," said Korčok, who polls suggest is one of the most trusted politicians, on social media.

On Wednesday night, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) announced that he would ask a deputy prime minister to convene the Security Council session. Later, it was announced that the meeting would take place at 11:00 on Thursday.

World leaders wish Fico well

World leaders have also responded to the attack. US President Joe Biden has condemned the attack.

“I am alarmed to hear reports of an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia,” he said an official statement.

He added that the US Embassy is in touch with the Slovak government. A few hours earlier, coalition MPs criticised the presence of employees from the US and UK embassies in parliament, where they were listening to and following a debate on the bill to dissolve the public broadcaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described Fico as a courageous and strong-minded man. “I very much hope that these qualities will help him survive this difficult situation,” the president said, as quoted by Reuters.

“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Leaders from the neighbouring countries were also shocked by the news. For example, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called the incident a “heinous attack against my friend”.

Even though Fico has refused to support Ukraine militarily in its onging attempts to defend itself from Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his sympathy, saying that “every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere.”

Czech President Petr Pavel, who also condemned the attack, warned against aggressiveness in society.