:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/MYF6PSSHYFDOPB2Y3KXV4SHF2Y.jpg "The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, between life and dying after being shot")
The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, is torn between life and dying in a hospital in Banská Bystrica, a metropolis situated on the banks of the Hron River, about 211 kilometers northeast of the capital of the Central European nation, Bratislava, the place he went admitted in severe situation after being shot on the finish of a gathering with supporters in a small city within the Slovak inside.
The social democratic chief was shot 4 instances within the abdomen on the sidewalk of the House of Culture in Handlova, a municipality of about 17,000 inhabitants situated about 150 kilometers northeast of Bratislava.
A submit on his Facebook web page reviews that Fico “was shot a number of instances” and his life is significantly threatened. “The subsequent few hours will probably be decisive,” warns the publication.
The police cordoned off the world and the attacked political chief was transferred to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt University General Hospital in Banská Bystrica.
Video. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico shot
Parliament Vice President Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident at a legislative session, which he declared concluded till additional discover, Slovak information company TASR reported.
For her half, President Zuzana Caputova (the primary lady to carry that place) condemned the “brutal and ruthless” assault towards the prime minister.
“I’m shocked,” stated Caputova, who known as the occasion “an assault on democracy.” Fico’s political opponent wished him “quite a lot of power at this vital second and a fast restoration after this assault.”
End violence
“A bodily assault on the prime minister is, to begin with, an assault on an individual, however it is usually an assault on democracy. All violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we now have seen within the metropolis results in hateful actions. Please, let’s cease now,” Caputova stated in a televised message.
President-elect Peter Pellegrini, an ally of Fico, known as the occasion “an unprecedented menace towards Slovak democracy. If we categorical our political beliefs with weapons within the sq. and never within the voting facilities, we will probably be placing in danger the whole lot we now have constructed collectively in 31 years of Slovak sovereignty.”
The incident occurred three weeks earlier than elections within the European Parliament, wherein populist and far-right events within the bloc of 27 international locations seem shut to creating progress.
Condemnation of opponents
The most important opposition events, Progressive Slovakia and Freedom and Solidarity, canceled a protest towards a controversial authorities plan to reform public media channels and stated they’d give the federal government full management of public radio and tv.
“We fully and emphatically condemn the violence and taking pictures towards Prime Minister Robert Fico,” stated Michal Simecka, chief of Progressive Slovakia. “At the identical time we name on all politicians to chorus from any expression or measure that contributes to rising tensions.”
Fico, who’s in his third time period, and his leftist Smer (Direction) get together, gained the September 30 parliamentary elections, making a political resurgence after campaigning with pro-Russia and anti-U.S. rhetoric.
Critics feared that Slovakia underneath Fico would abandon the nation’s pro-Western stance and lean towards Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s populist leanings.
Condemnations of the political violence rapidly emerged from throughout Europe, though the motive for the assault has not but been established.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, condemned “the vile assault.”
Shock. Attack on the Slovak Prime Minister: how Robert Fico continues after being shot
“These forms of acts of violence haven’t any place in our society and undermine democracy, our most treasured widespread good,” von der Leyen stated in X.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated on the identical social community that he’s “shocked and astonished by the taking pictures.”
For his half, US President Joe Biden expressed alarm. “We condemn this horrible act of violence,” he stated in an announcement.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala known as the incident “stunning” and added: “I want the Prime Minister a speedy restoration. We can’t tolerate violence, there isn’t any place for it in society,” he concluded.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in X: “Creepy information from Slovakia. Robert, I’m with you in my ideas at this very troublesome time.”
Background adjustments
Fico, 59, assumed his third time period as prime minister on October 25, 2023. He had beforehand held the identical place between 2006 and 2010 and between 2012 and 2018.
During his final proselytizing marketing campaign he promised to reform the liberal mannequin imposed on the nation on the time of its entry into the European Union. In that sense, his authorities plan applied adjustments within the revenue tax that now contains two forms of tax (19% and 25%) whereas decreasing the tax utilized to meals to 10%. Likewise, he decreed that companies shut on holidays, free public transportation for college kids and retirees, and the fee of a subsidy on the finish of employment contracts.