Robert Fico is still serious but will make it
The populist premier, just hours after the attack, is passing his first life-saving operation. Meanwhile, the political debate of the European elections is inflamed
3' min read
3' min read
He is still not completely out of danger, but he will make it. Only a few hours after the attack that seriously injured him, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in intensive care in a condition considered still serious, but he is stable and able to speak.- 'Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico underwent a new surgery this morning lasting two and a half hours'. This is what Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said, speaking to the media in front of the hospital in Banska Bistrica. The hospital director, Miriam Lapunikova, at his side, specified that the premier had undergone a check-up this morning, and that 'following the examination and examinations, the necrotic tissue remaining after the most serious wound was removed'. While initial investigations have revealed that the bomber Juraj Cintula is 'a lone wolf' who allegedly acted 'out of revenge'.
The 71-year-old - a 'non-violent' but armed activist - was formally charged with attempted premeditated murder and, according to local media reports, said he was very 'proud' of his act. He now faces 25 years in prison. The president-elect of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, visited Fico in the Roosevelt hospital in Banska Bystrica, the town 200 kilometres from Bratislava where the prime minister was on a political engagement when Cintula fired five shots at him. And it was Pellegrini himself who announced that the prime minister, who had come out of the pharmacological coma, was able to speak.
"He only spoke to me for a couple of minutes", but now "he needs rest", the president said, emphasising that "the most important hours and days" are now ahead of Fico. The hospital director, Miriam Lapuníková, announced that the prime minister's condition is stable, but still serious after the first surgery, which lasted five hours. The premier will have to undergo a second hip operation. The country is in shock, amid political tensions and disinformation on social media aimed at exacerbating tempers especially in the run-up to the European elections.
"We have crossed a red line" of political hatred, Pellegrini further said, calling on the parties to "suspend" the campaign for the 8 June vote. "Slovakia does not need further clashes and mutual accusations right now," he added. The head of state-elect, who will take office in June, and the outgoing president, Zuzana Caputova, invited the leaders of all parties to Grasalkovich Palace in Bratislava, the seat of the presidency, to condemn the violence and 'defuse tensions'. Members of Fico's populist government agree on the 'politically motivated' attack.
"The political clash led to an attempted murder," said Defence Minister Robert Kalinak. His Interior colleague Matus Sutaj Estok reported that Centula is a lone wolf: he is not part of political movements,' he explained, 'but he was dissatisfied with the outcome of the elections. It was an attack on democracy. We want to avoid a civil war', which is why 'I appeal to the media: do not throw petrol on the fire', Estok added, accusing the press of 'lies' and of 'giving space to conspiracy theories'. Like the one, already denied by the police, that Centula's companion was Ukrainian. Already 32 social media users have been targeted by the Slovak police for praising the bomber's gesture. The entire EU is now watching Slovakia with apprehension, fearing that political violence will overflow and flood the European campaign.
