Deputy Prime Minister Kalinak said Fico was stable after surgery after being shot five times during an assassination attempt.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is stable but his condition remains “very serious,” his deputy said, after an assassination attempt that shocked the country and sparked global condemnation.
Fico, 59, was shot five times on Wednesday in the central town of Handlova. He was in critical condition and underwent several hours of emergency surgery.
“During the night, doctors managed to stabilize the patient’s condition,” Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, the state of health remains very serious because the injuries are complicated,” said Kalinak, who is also defense minister..
A State Security Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday following the attack. The alleged attacker, a 71-year-old writer, was taken into police custody.
Environment Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC on Thursday that the operation had gone “well”. He said one bullet passed through Fico’s stomach and the second hit a joint during the attack after Fico left a government meeting.
The shooting was “politically motivated,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Wednesday.
“This assassination (attempt) was politically motivated and its author’s decision came shortly after the presidential election,” Sutaj Estok said, referring to the April elections won by Fico’s ally Peter Pellegrini.
Pellegrini called the attack “an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy.”
“If we express other political opinions in public squares and not in polling stations, we endanger everything we have built together over 31 years of Slovak sovereignty,” Pellegrini said.
Following the attack, Fico was rushed to Handlova Hospital, but transferred by helicopter to the regional capital, Banska Bystrica, for emergency treatment.
Russia said it considered the attack “absolutely unacceptable.”
“This is truly a great tragedy,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
Fico’s European counterparts, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, condemned the shooting and wished him a full recovery.
The country of 5.4 million people has seen polarized political debates in recent years, including last year’s presidential election that helped Fico tighten his grip on power.
Since returning to the premiership last October, his government has scaled back support for Ukraine while opening dialogue with Russia, sought to ease corruption sanctions and is revamping the state broadcaster RTVS despite a call to protect media freedoms.
