The attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, “between life and death” after being injured by several bullets on Wednesday May 15, sparked astonishment and strong condemnation around the world. The 59-year-old leader, who returned to power in October 2023, was targeted after a cabinet meeting in Handlova, central Slovakia.
The media reported the shooting early in the afternoon, before the news was confirmed on its official Facebook page. “Robert Fico was the victim of an assassination attempt. He has been hit several times and his life-saving diagnosis is underway. (…) The next few hours will be decisive,” it is written. According to Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, the assailant shot the pro-Russian leader five times. According to Defense Minister Robert Kalinak, the prime minister was in “extremely serious condition” Wednesday evening, and was still in the operating room. “Our hope is in the hands of the doctors,” he added.
Daniel Vrazda, a journalist for Slovak media Dennik N who covered the event, said he heard four gunshots before seeing Robert Fico on the ground. Television images show his bodyguards rushing him into a car, then police apprehending and handcuffing the alleged assailant on the ground.
The Prime Minister had approached a small group of people who came to see him in the street after a council of ministers on Wednesday morning, when a man opened fire on him. The prime minister was evacuated by helicopter to the town of Banska Bystrica.
Ukrainian and Russian convictions
Slovakia’s outgoing president Zuzana Caputova was the first to speak, calling her political opponent’s “brutal” assault an “attack on democracy.” Peter Pellegrini, who will succeed him in June, also condemned “the attempted assassination” of this relative. “I am horrified to see where hatred towards another political opinion can lead,” he wrote on X. The parliamentary session in Bratislava was suspended and security measures increased in the capital.
Reactions poured in around the world. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the “appalling” attack on the Slovak Prime Minister, who cut off military aid to Ukraine after his return to power in October, while Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of a “heinous crime,” describing Robert Fico, a former communist and ally, “as a courageous and determined man.”
Biden speaks of “despicable” act, Europe in shock
US President Joe Biden condemned a “despicable act of violence”, adding that he and his wife Jill “were thinking of his family and the people of Slovakia”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also denounced a “despicable attack.” “Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” she said.
“Nothing can ever justify violence or such attacks,” added the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, while the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said she was “shocked by the horrible attack”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “shocked by the shots that hit the Slovak prime minister” and expressed his “solidarity” with the Slovak people. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also said he was “shocked to hear this terrible news”. For the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, “upset by the cowardly attack”, “violence can have no place in European politics”.
The head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, “shocked” by the “vile attack”, expressed “the strongest condemnation of any form of violence and attack on the basic principles of democracy and freedom”.
Dismay in central and southern Europe
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, “deeply shocked,” condemned “the heinous attack perpetrated against [his] friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico.” “The assassination attempt on my Slovak colleague (…) deeply shocks me,” wrote the Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammer. “Just a few days ago we spoke on the phone and discussed security issues intensively. »
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis expressed his “dismay” and strongly condemned “such extremist acts, which threaten our fundamental European values.” “Shocked by the hateful attack”, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, judged that “such acts of violence have no place in our societies”.
A “shocking” attack for the UN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the shocking attack” on the Slovak prime minister, according to one of his spokespersons. Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, of which Slovakia is a part, also said he was “shocked and dismayed”. “I wish him the strength for a speedy recovery,” he added.
In Iran, “the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanaani, condemned the assassination attempt” and wished Mr. Fico “good health and a speedy recovery”. For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “strongly condemned the odious assassination attempt” while wishing the Prime Minister “a speedy recovery”. The vice-president, Cevdet Yilmaz, judged that “this assassination attempt constitutes a direct threat to democracy”.