Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, was seriously injured by gunfire following a government meeting held this Wednesday in Handlova. According to local media, he was hit in the abdomen and chest.
Witnesses present at the scene reported hearing four gunshots just after the meeting. The Prime Minister, hit in the abdomen, was immediately taken to hospital. His condition is currently considered very serious.
A Reuters journalist reported hearing several explosions and seeing police arrest a suspect at the scene. Photos show the arrest of the individual by the police, while the area was cordoned off for security reasons. For the moment, the shooter's motivations remain unknown.
Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová expressed her deep dismay at this act of violence. “I condemn in the strongest terms this brutal attack on our Prime Minister,” she said, calling for a rapid and transparent investigation.
Robert Fico has been a central figure in Slovak politics since the founding of his party, SMER-SD, in 1999. He managed to unite left-wing forces under this banner, winning the 2006 parliamentary elections and forming a government with the nationalists and the populists, which earned him a suspension from the Party of European Socialists (PES).
His first term was marked by generous social policies while maintaining the reforms of his predecessors. Although he won the 2010 elections, he had to cede power to a center-right coalition. He returned to power in 2012, then again in 2016, before resigning in 2018 following the crisis caused by the assassination of journalist Ján Kuciak.
In 2023, Fico made a political comeback by winning the general elections, thus taking back the reins of government. This attack comes at a time when he was trying to consolidate his power and implement his political program.
Handlova's shooting and Robert Fico's injury plunge Slovakia into a period of uncertainty and tension. The next few hours will be crucial to know the evolution of the Prime Minister's state of health and the motivations behind this attack. The entire country is waiting for answers and hoping for a rapid recovery of its leader.
