Assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister

On May 15, 2024, news media outlets began reporting that Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has been shot.

Robert Fico is a controversial figure. Not just in Slovakia, but in the EU. He is the leader of the Smer Party, a left-wing nationalist party that has taken heat for an alleged stance on cutting aid to Ukraine and cozying up to Putin and Moscow.

Recently, Fico rejected the European COVID treaty, and stated that he would criminally charge the government for its management of COVID which FICO states got his countrymen killed.

Now, Fico is undergoing surgery in a Banska Bystrica hospital.

Fico was reportedly meeting with a crowd on May 15, following a political meeting in Handlova. It was here that a lone gunman fired four to five shots, hitting Fico in the abdomen.

Fico was quickly covered by security and put into a vehicle. The gunman was taken down at the scene and has since been arrested. Fico received initial treatment in Handlova before being moved. His Facebook indicated he went to Banska Bystrica, though many are stating he flew by helicopter to Bratislava.

Many of Europe’s leaders have taken to social media to condemn the attack. Slovakia’s speaker in parliament, Lubos Blaha, was quick to blame media and progressives as the causal force behind the assassination attempt.

Robert Fico is a controversial figure in Slovakia. He has served nearly 10 years in total as Slovakia’s PM and over the course of three terms in office. In September, Fico secured his political comeback by being elected to parliament, where he secured the Premiership through a majority coalition.

Fico had previously stepped away from politics due to corruption, where he was linked to organizing an assassination of an investigative journalist who was researching his political rise. His recent return to politics was done on a campaign of pro-Russia/anti-West sentiment. The recent election of Peter Pellegrini, another populist leader who will soon remove Caputova as President, has further led to fears that this new Slovak leadership will undo years of Westernization/EU integration.

Whether these events will spur on other political instability, such as protests, is uncertain.