Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot and wounded in the abdomen after a government meeting, Slovak media reports say.
Fico is in a life-threatening condition, the Slovak government office said in an emailed statement, adding that he was being transported by a helicopter to Banska Bystrica hospital.
Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova.
A suspect has been detained, it said.
Police sealed off the scene.
A Reuters witness said he heard several shots and that he saw a man being detained by police.
The Reuters witness said he saw security officials pushing someone into a car and driving off.
Deputy speaker of parliament Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident during a session of parliament and adjourned it until further notice, the Slovak TASR news agency said.
President Zuzana Caputova condemned “a brutal and ruthless” attack on the Fico.
Fico’s latest term as prime minister began in October.
The 59-year-old populist politician previously held the post of prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and 2012 to 2018.
The Slovak government was meeting in Handlova, 190km northeast of Bratislava, as part of a tour of the country’s regions after coming to power late last year.
Fico returned as prime minister of the central European country, which is a member of the European Union and NATO, for the fourth time last year after shifting political gears to appeal to a changing electorate.
During a three-decade career, Fico has moved between the pro-European mainstream and nationalistic positions opposed to EU and US policies.
He has also shown a willingness to change course depending on public opinion or changed political realities.
Following the shooting, Slovakia’s biggest opposition party called off a planned protest against government public broadcaster reforms set for Wednesday evening.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, condemned what she described as a vile attack on Fico.
with AP and DPA
https://thewest.com.au/politics/slovak-pm-fico-shot-and-wounded-after-govt-meeting-c-14683338
