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☆ Slovak Prime Minister Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Assassination Attempt
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | Sara Cincurova | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia spoke publicly for the first time since being shot three weeks ago, blaming the opposition in a video released on Wednesday for what he described as a politically motivated assassination attempt. In the recorded video address, which was posted to the official Facebook pages for Mr. Fico and his political party, Smer, the prime minister detailed his recovery and said it would be “a minor miracle” if he could return to work in a few weeks. Mr. Fico was shot multiple times at close range on May 15 in Handlova, in central Slovakia, and required several rounds of surgery before he was released from a hospital on May 30. He said in his address that the attack seriously harmed him, adding that he was receiving outpatient care. He said he hoped to return to work gradually by the end of June or early July “if everything goes as planned,” according to an English translation provided by Mr. Fico and Smer.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico Organizations: Mr Locations: Slovakia, Handlova, Bratislava

Two weeks after being shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia was released from the hospital on Thursday and taken to his home in Bratislava, the capital. Miriam Lapunikova, the director of the hospital in central Slovakia where Mr. Fico underwent several rounds of surgery, told the TV3 television station that the prime minister’s condition had stabilized sufficiently for him to continue treatment at his residence. Mr. Fico, a combative populist who took office in October after eking out a narrow victory in a parliamentary election, has not spoken publicly since he was shot on May 15 in the Slovak town of Handlova during a meeting with supporters. His return to Bratislava suggested that he would resume control of a government that opponents have accused of eroding democracy and of putting Slovakia on the same authoritarian path taken by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary.

Persons: Robert Fico, Miriam Lapunikova, Fico, eking, Viktor Orban Organizations: TV3 Locations: Slovakia, Bratislava, Slovak, Handlova, Hungary

☆ A Would-be Assassin Stirs Europe’s Violent Ghosts
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dmitri A. Medvedev, the former Russian president and regular forecaster of a third World War, had no hesitation in comparing the would-be assassin of Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia to the young man who ignited World War I. Europe, he suggested, was once more on the brink. It was on many levels a wild association to make. The Europe of empires that unraveled between 1914 and 1918 is long gone, as is the Europe that replaced it and produced Auschwitz. In their place the painstakingly constructed European Union of 27 members, including Slovakia, has been put in place with the overriding goal of making war impossible on a long-ravaged continent. Yet, with elections to the European Parliament just three weeks way, ominous indications of brewing violence go well beyond the shooting of Mr. Fico, whose condition remains serious.

Persons: Dmitri A, Medvedev, Robert Fico, Fico, Mr, Princip, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Churchill Organizations: Bosnian Serb, of Locations: Russian, Slovakia, Europe, Russia, Bosnian, Sarajevo

☆ Slovakian Charged in Shooting ‘Was Against Everything’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

He wrote dark, erotic verse and poems featuring torture and pain. He also self-published a book that railed against Roma people and asked why Slovakia had not produced a homegrown version of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist. And what if he has been?” he asked in the book. I told myself — I’ll write a book.”Then on Wednesday, the 71-year-old former coal mine worker, onetime stone mason and lifelong malcontent was charged with opening fire at point-blank range on Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia. As soon as news broke that an unidentified man had shot Mr. Fico in central Slovakia, it was obvious to Milan Maruniak, a retired coal miner, who must be responsible.

Persons: Anders Behring Breivik, Breivik, ”, — I’ll, malcontent, Robert Fico of, Milan Maruniak Organizations: Roma Locations: Slovakia, Norwegian, Robert Fico of Slovakia, Fico, Milan

☆ What to Know About the Shooting of Slovakia’s Prime Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia was shot five times on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Officials said the act was a politically motivated assassination attempt, stoking fears that Europe’s increasingly polarized and vitriolic politics could tip into violence. Mr. Fico, a veteran populist politician, underwent hours of emergency surgery after being critically wounded in a town in central Slovakia. Here is what we know about the shooting. Videos from the scene indicate that Mr. Fico was shot in Banikov Square, in the center of the town of Handlova, where the prime minister had held a government meeting.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico Organizations: Hospital Locations: Slovakia, Handlova

☆ Slovakia’s Politics Were Toxic Long Before Its Prime Minister Was Shot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Andrew Higgins | Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the government that charged him, he was a “lone wolf,” an off-kilter individual representing nobody but himself when he pumped at least four bullets into Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia. The assassination attempt on Wednesday, however, has put a spotlight on a far wider collective malfunction in Slovakia. The Covid-19 pandemic, he said, hardened previously fluid lines into what have since become hostile camps, with little room for nuance. Roughly half the population welcomed vaccines and half rejecting them. Do you believe or not believe?” Mr. Milo said.

Persons: Robert Fico of, ”, Daniel Milo, “ I’ve, Mr, Milo, Covid Locations: Robert Fico of Slovakia, Slovakia, Central Europe, Ukraine

A gunman shot Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, who is known for defying his fellow leaders in the European Union, multiple times at close range on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Mr. Fico was shot after emerging from the House of Culture in Handlova, a town in central Slovakia, as he greeted a small crowd in Banikov Square. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, then airlifted to another hospital for emergency surgery. Hours later, the deputy prime minister, Tomas Taraba, told the BBC that Mr. Fico’s situation was no longer life-threatening, and he expected the prime minister to survive. The gunman, identified by Slovak news outlets as a 71-year-old poet, was immediately wrestled to the ground by security officers.

Persons: Robert Fico of, Fico, Tomas Taraba Organizations: European Union, Culture, BBC Locations: Robert Fico of Slovakia, Handlova, Slovakia, Slovak

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