Slovak prime minister 'will survive' after being shot

Camera footage of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico after being shot

The suspected gunman is an activist with "a clear political motivation"

(Image credit: RTVS / AFP via Getty Images)

By Peter Weber, The Week US, Arion McNicoll, The Week UK

published 16 May 2024

What happened

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times Wednesday as he addressed supporters outside in Handlova. Doctors said early Thursday he is in stable but serious condition after surgery. Fortunately, the five-hour operation "went well and I guess in the end he will survive," Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC.

The suspected gunman, identified in local media as a 71-year-old writer and activist, is in custody, and a primary investigation found "a clear political motivation," Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said.

Estok "did not specify what the motivation was," The Associated Press said, but Fico's divisive "return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message" threatened to derail Slovakia's long-established democratic, "pro-Western course."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.