15 May 2024 , 15:18
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Robert Fico is fighting for his life after being shot in a suspected assassination attempt.
The Slovakian populist Prime Minister, 59, was in the town of Handlova - 112 miles north of Bratislava - when several shots were fired outside the House of Culture. Mr Fico had been in the town for a government meeting and was meeting supporters when they were ambushed.
Slovak police have detained a man in connection with the shooting. The Associated Press say Mr Fico fell to the ground before being hurried into a car by security.
Reports on a Slovakian TV station, TA3, said he was hit in the stomach and airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital, before being taken to another hospital in Banska Bystrica. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "shocked" at the awful news. He wrote on X: "All our thoughts are with Prime Minister Fico and his family".
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico delivering a speech in Brussels in March (AFP via Getty Images)So who is Mr Fico?
He holds the record as the country's longest-serving PM, having served a total of 10 years. He has led the country in a coalition with two other parties since his most recent appointment in 2023, however previously served between 2006 and 2010, as well as from 2012 to 2018.
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After being elected in Parliament in 1992, he founded the left-wing nationalist Direction Social Democracy party in 1999 and has led the party since. His politics is described as populist, which is usually a focus on 'people', and associated with anti-establishment beliefs.
His politics
Last October, Fico returned for a third-term as a PM at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition. Fico has praised Vladimir Putin - saying he would not permit the Russian president’s arrest under an international warrant if he came to Slovakia.
Critics worry that Fico is abandoning Slovakia’s pro-western course and following the direction of Hungary under Viktor Orbán. Fico has been outspoken on numerous issues, savaging the EU and insisting he only has Slovakian interests at heart.
Private life
Away from politics, Mr Fico is married to Svetlana Ficová, who is a lawyer and associate professor. After meeting when they were both studying law at Comenius University in Bratislava, the couple tied the knot in 1988. They have one son together, Michal.
The strength of their marriage was rocked when rumours swirled in 2010 regarding Mr Fico's alleged infidelity. The Prime Minister was reportedly snapped with then-25-year-old Jana Halászová, who was working as a secretary at the Smer-SD party headquarters.
Three years later, Mr Fico was allegedly pictured kissing Halászová after she became his secretary. They were seen having a private dinner at a chateau in Čereňany, a village in Western Slovakia. And in 2020, local media reported Mr Fico allegedly had another lover, who drove around in a luxury car despite her mediocre salary at the prosecution office.
Russia Ukraine war stance
In 2022, Mr Fico reportedly said that the media was made up of an "organised criminal group with the aim of breaking Slovak statehood". Elsewhere, responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the politician expressed his opposition to supplying arms and ammunition.
He opposed the Ukrainian membership in NATO and suggested the accession of Ukraine to the European Union by 2025 was an unrealistic scenario. Mr Fico condemned Russia's invasion but was critical of the sanctions imposed against the country, arguing that they harmed the population and Europeans rather than the regime.
Mr Fico has also previously been accused of Islamophobia, saying in 2016 that Islam had "no place in Slovakia". Amid Wednesday's shooting, his 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.
Tributes
The shooting 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. Other world leaders have publicly condemned the attack on the PM, with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs posting on X: "Whatever political or other differences there are, violence is completely unacceptable.
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"I wish speedy recovery to Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico. I condemn this assassination attempt and call for thorough investigation." Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová said she was "utterly shocked" by the attempt, which she condemned in "the strongest possible terms".
The President stated: "I wish him lot of strength in this critical moment and early recovery. My thoughts are also with his family and close ones." Michala Šimeček, leader of opposition party Progressive Slovakia, said: "We unequivocally and strongly condemn any violence. We trust that Prime Minister Fico will be fine and that this terrible act will be brought to light as soon as possible."
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, said: "I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico and his family."