Slovakia’s leader, Robert Fico, has made a public appearance via a video speech on his Facebook account for the first time since he survived a murder attempt three weeks prior. The attack had significantly impacted his health, and Fico expressed that it would be miraculous if he could resume work within a few weeks.
He is currently in the recovery process following several injuries sustained from a gunshot to his stomach as he was greeting his supporters in the town of Handlova located approximately 130km northeast of the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, on May 15th.
Subsequent to the assault, an individual was arrested. The Prime Minister envisages going back to his work duties by the end of June Even though he was attacked, he insists that he harbours “no hatred” against his assaulter and declared that he forgives him. Moreover, he took a jab at the opposition and others, implying that the assaulter was merely a conveyor of malice and political animosity.
Fico accused certain unnamed western nations of creating a biased situation, attributing his attack to differing opinions on topics such as Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine and his perspectives that contrast significantly with mainstream European beliefs. He commented that, “It’s a harsh reality but the right to hold a dissenting view seems to no longer exist in the European Union.”
Following his discharge from hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica recently, he was relocated to his home in Bratislava where he is still regaining his strength. A footage of the attack shows Fico reaching out to his constituents when a man sprang forward and fired five shots before being subdued and taken into custody. Fico was immediately treated with a five-hour-long surgery, and another surgery lasting for two hours was conducted two days afterwards.
Under Fico’s administration efforts have been made to revamp public broadcasting, a development critics argue would grant the government complete control over national television and radio. His intentions to modify the penal code to dissolve a special prosecutor tackling corruption has also sparked fears among opponents that Slovakia might be guided in a more autocratic direction under his leadership.