Slovak PM Fico looks to return to work after firing

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday he could return to work later this month and accused the opposition of displaying hatred and aggression towards his party, his first public comments since the May 15 assassination attempt.

Fico is recovering at home after he was shot four times at close range as he greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. He was rushed to hospital after the attack, where he is in a serious condition and spent several hours in surgery.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Fico described his attacker as an opposition activist and said there was no reason to believe the shooting was the act of a “lone madman.” He said he had no hatred for his attacker and would not seek compensation.

“On May 15, a Slovak opposition activist tried to assassinate me in Handlova because of my political views,” Fico said in the video. He added that medical staff averted the worst.

“If everything goes well, I will be able to gradually return to work by the end of June and July.”

Wearing a button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves and filmed from the waist up, seated in a black leather chair, Fico appeared to be in good health.

The attacker, identified by prosecutors as 71-year-old Juraj C., was taken into custody at the scene after the attack and charged with attempted premeditated murder.

The incident has exposed the deep polarization of politics in the central European country of 5.4 million.

Opposition parties have staged protests against Fico’s leftist-nationalist government since it came to power last year. Its policy changes include halting military aid to Ukraine, abolishing a special prosecutor’s office despite rule of law concerns and reorganising the state television and radio broadcaster despite criticism the move could harm media freedom.

Accusations

Fico said the opposition’s hatred and aggression towards his government had reached its peak after the presidential election in April, which the ruling coalition’s candidate won.

He accused opposition parties, which were previously in government, of trying to eliminate his SMER party by “abusing” the penal code, but said he had never faced an EU investigation.

Fico said the opposition still enjoys Western support because it has different views from the government, particularly on the Ukraine war.

Fico said the EU and NATO have only one acceptable opinion, that the Ukraine war “must continue at any cost to weaken the Russian Federation”.

“Anyone who doesn’t agree with this mandatory opinion is immediately labeled a Russian agent and politically marginalized internationally,” Fico said in a video published with English subtitles.

Reacting to Fico’s comments, Michal Šimecka, leader of the largest opposition party Progressive Slovakia, said he was glad Fico’s condition was improving but regretted the prime minister’s decision to attack his political enemies, the media and the European Union.

“Unfortunately, nothing has changed in his politics,” Scimecca said in a statement.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)