ROBERT FICO IS ‘STABLE’ AFTER FIVE HOURS OF SURGERY IN HOSPITAL​

By Asier Martínez Jurio / Aquí Europa

The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, was shot several times yesterday, May 15, 2024, in the town of Handlová, where a Council of Ministers was held this Wednesday. The attacker has already been arrested, a 71-year-old man, who shot the minister four or five times in the extremities and in the sternum.

Robert Fico was surprised in the streets of the Slovak town of Handlová around 3 p.m., after finishing the meeting with his cabinet and at the moment of approaching some of his supporters who demanded his presence. Fico was shot five times in various parts of his body: his abdomen, arms and legs.

The perpetrator of the assault was Juraj Cintula, a 71-year-old writer who was stalking the streets to commit this atrocity. Authorities stipulate that the motive for the attack was “politically motivated.”

The Kremlin has expressed concern following the shooting of the Slovak prime minister, calling it a “great tragedy”. In a statement quoted by Ria news agency, the Russian government spokesman said that what happened is “absolutely unacceptable”.

Fico’s medical report was recently released after several hours of surgery. The hospital where he is admitted has confirmed that “His condition is stable, but he is really very serious; he will be in the intensive care unit”.

Robert Fico’s political career began as Slovakia’s representative to the European Court of Human Rights between 1994 and 2000. From 1999 he founded the Smer-SD party, which is part of the center-left spectrum. In 2006, the party won and Fico was appointed prime minister.

He subsequently won again in 2012 and in 2016, but after two years he had to resign due to riots against the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée.

Since October last year he has been back in office, a term highlighted by silent accusations of corruption, which the minister has always denied.

His current policies based on the methods of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have encouraged the spread of mass protests across the country. He has also been criticized for moving away from the policies of the EU and the Western world.

————

This article was originally published in Aquí Europa, with whose permission we reproduce it.