FALCON POWERS – The deputy prime minister of Slovakia stated that Prime Minister Robert Fico underwent a two-hour surgical procedure on Friday, which has raised hopes for his recovery after an assassination attempt earlier this week that shocked Europe.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák said a decision to transfer Fico from the central Slovak city of Banská Bystrica, where he is being treated, to the capital Bratislava will only be made once his condition improves. Kaliňák told reporters outside the Banská Bystrica hospital, “It will take a few more days to confirm the condition… I see that the surgery today… will bring us closer to a positive diagnosis.”
He added, “My morale is better because I see progress. The condition is still very serious but for me there is hope.”
Miriam Lapuníková, the director of the hospital where Fico is being treated, said the prime minister is conscious in the intensive care unit after a surgery to remove dead tissue from his wounds.
Fico underwent hours-long surgery on Wednesday shortly after being shot five times at close range.
The shooting incident was the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader in more than 20 years, sparking international condemnation.
Political analysts and lawmakers say it has exposed a charged political climate with growing polarization in Slovakia and across Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a political ally of Fico, told public radio on Friday that even if Fico recovers, he will not be able to resume his duties for months, at a critical time before European Parliament elections scheduled for early next month.
He added, “We are facing elections that will not only determine the members of the European Parliament, but together with the US elections, they can determine the course of war and peace in Europe.”
Both Fico and Orbán have criticized the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions on Russia.
