(CN) — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered life-threatening wounds after he was shot Wednesday afternoon by a man in a sparse crowd waiting to greet the politician after he held a government meeting in a small city in central Slovakia.
Fico is a veteran of Slovak politics and a contentious figure due to his skepticism toward the European Union, warm attitude toward Russia and opposition to arming Ukraine.
In what authorities described as an assassination attempt, Fico was shot in the stomach and elsewhere on this body after he left a government meeting in Handlova, according to news reports. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital in nearby Banská Bystrica. By Wednesday night, he remained in critical condition.
Slovak media reported that police detained the shooter, who was identified as a 71-year-old man from the nearby city of Levice. The shooter was described as a poet and writer. He faces a life sentence for attempted premeditated murder, media reported.
Slovak media said the attacker had expressed racist views in the past and that he spoke out against the government in a recent video. Still, his motives remained unclear. His son told Slovak media that he did not vote for Fico but that he had not talked about attacking the prime minister.
Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the attacker had “a clear political motivation” in shooting Fico.
“I want to call on the public, journalists and all politicians to stop spreading hatred,” Šutaj Eštok said. “We are on the brink of civil war. The assassination of the prime minister is a confirmation of that.”
Since winning reelection last October, Fico has become a divisive figure, as his government has sought to exert more control over public media, stopped arms shipments to Ukraine and moved to slap “foreign agent” labels on foreign-funded non-governmental agencies.
The shooting shocked Europe and added fuel to a toxic political atmosphere across Europe, where polarizing rhetoric is rising as far-right and populist forces gain strength and warnings about democratic backsliding grow.
“I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!” said far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent messages of support to Fico and wished him a speedy recovery.
Inside Slovakia, the shooting stoked political tensions with members of Fico’s party accusing the opposition and media of fomenting violence with their attacks on the government.
“We absolutely and strongly condemn violence and today’s shooting of Premier Robert Fico,” said Michal Simecka, the opposition leader of Progressive Slovakia. “At the same time we call on all politicians to refrain from any expressions and steps which could contribute to further increasing the tension.”
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.