Fico in ‘extraordinarily serious’ condition and still in surgery as medics ‘fight for his life’, says minister Slovakia’s defence minister, Robert Kaliňák, has said the country’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is still undergoing surgery and is in “extraordinarily serious” condition. Kaliňák, in a news conference outside the hospital in Banská Bystrica, said medical workers are “fighting for the life” of Fico, who suffered “serious polytrauma after several shots”. Fico’s “health is serious, his situation is bad”, he said. We do not have good news at the moment and we put our hope in the hands of the medical specialists at the hospital. Kaliňák said the surgery has now been going on for three and a half hours, and that more medical information will be available later. Robert Fico is a burly and brash political veteran known for his attacks on the media, NGOs and prosecutors. Having enjoyed three previous stints as prime minister, Fico, 59, is well known to voters and observers – and critics, who accuse him of seeking to emulate Viktor Orbán, his friend in neighbouring Hungary, by trying to undermine checks and balances and cement his power while also taking a friendlier stance toward Russia. Fico’s return to power last year has prompted concern inside and outside his country, which critics say is becoming increasingly febrile and polarised under his watch. Journalists in Slovakia have expressed alarm over a recent government decision that would replace the country’s public broadcaster and, they say, open it up to political influence. Meanwhile, Fico’s move to close down a special prosecutor’s office focused on high-level corruption has raised the possibility that the EU could freeze some funding allocated to Slovakia. Legislation that would label civil society groups that receive more than €5,000 (£4,300) a year in international funding as “organisations with foreign support” has also triggered worries in the EU and among NGOs. Amnesty International Slovakia has described the bill as “a thinly disguised attempt to stigmatise civil society organisations that are critical of the authorities and hamper their vital work”. Fico is typical of the new wave of nationalist-populist politicians who have emerged over the last decade, riding the wave of resentment generated among tens of millions of Europeans by the disappointments of the 21st century. Deputy PM says Fico ‘no longer in life-threatening condition’ Robert Fico “is expected to survive” after surgery, his deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba said. Taraba told the BBC Fico was no longer in a life-threatening situation. He said: “Fortunately as far as I know the operation went well – and I guess in the end he will survive. He is not in a life-threatening situation at this moment. “He was heavily injured – one bullet went thought the stomach and the second one hit the joint – immediately he was transported to the hospital and then to the operation.” There has been no official announcement yet about the prime minister’s condition. "Fico out of surgery", source tells local media Prime minister Robert Fico is out of surgery, a source told Aktuality.sk. His condition has been described as stable. Former police president Štefan Hamran said the security guards are supposed to protect the prime minister with their bodies when he goes into a crowd of people, Dennik N reported. He said: “When they don’t go before him, the prime minister then presents an open target.” Slovakia’s president said she was shocked at the news that the country’s prime minister, Robert Fico, had been seriously injured in a shooting. Zuzana Caputova pleaded for people to ‘stop hateful rhetoric’ during a press conference from the presidential palace in Bratislava. What we know about the shooting Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is in a “life-threatening” and “serious” condition after being shot multiple times on Wednesday outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlová. Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia’s defence minister, said Fico is still undergoing surgery and is in “extraordinarily serious” condition. Slovakia’s interior minister, Matúš Šutaj-Eštok, said the perpetrator of the attack fired at Fico five times. He said initial information “clearly points to a political motivation” after Slovakia’s presidential election. According to Denník N, Fico was shot in the abdomen and left arm. Šutaj-Eštok described the incident as “the saddest moment in the 31 years of history of Slovakia … An attack on the prime minister is an attack on democracy. It is an attack on the state itself.” Fico had been conscious while being transported to the hospital and he is being treated for bullet wounds, according to a hospital spokesperson. The suspect is a 71-year-old man, according to local media reports. Slovak news media reported the shooter was a former security guard at a shopping mall. Global leaders including Joe Biden, Ursula von der Leyen and Vladimir Putin condemned the attack on Fico. The US president said he was “alarmed” by the attack. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, a close ally, said he was “deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend”. Von der Leyen said: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. EU leaders have condemned the “cowardly” assassination attempt on the Slovakian present, Robert Fico, warning that violence has “no place” in European politics. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, a country which has itself experienced a wave of violent attacks on politicians in the past month, said: “I am deeply shocked by the news of the cowardly attack on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico. Violence must not exist in European politics.” Speaking just three weeks before elections to the European parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, echoed his message, condemning what she said was a “vile attack” on “both the prime minister and democracy”. European politicians have warned of the groundwork for more likely violence being laid by rising polarisation in political discourse on both the left and the right. In a statement, the liberal political group Renew said it was “increasingly alarmed by the rising polarisation within our political sphere fuelled by extremist ideologies, both left- and right-wing.” This “climate of heightened division is laying the groundwork for an environment where acts of violence are more likely to occur, and also wrongly justified by those who seek to disrupt and dominate rather than engage and debate”, it added. According to the television channel TV JOJ, the police are questioning the suspect’s wife. Interior minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said he will ask the deputy Prime Minister to convene the State Security Council, Dennik K reported. “We will do everything to guarantee the safety of people in Slovakia,” Eštok said. Video footage shows Robert Fico approaching a group of supporters outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlová, about 90 miles (150km) north-east of the capital, Bratislava. A man in the crowd is then seen grabbing a gun and firing five shots, hitting Fico who falls to the ground as security personnel tackle the shooter. The mayor of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo, has described the attack on Robert Fico as “inexcusable and shameful”, Denník N reported. A statement by the mayor carried by the Slovakian newspaper reads: I sincerely wish him to recover from his injuries as soon as possible. The hatred and tension that has built up in society has taken a heavy toll … The most important thing at this moment is that they do not escalate further, that politicians refrain from accusing each other and making strong statements. Also considering what preceded these shots and what could still follow. Robert Fico, the Slovakian prime minister, was injured during a shooting which was filmed by broadcaster RTV Prievidza. The footage shows Fico approaching a group of supporters outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlová, about 90 miles (150km) north-east of the capital, Bratislava. A man in the crowd is then seen grabbing a gun and firing five shots, hitting Fico, who falls to the ground as security personnel tackle the shooter. "We can"t respond to hate with hate": Slovakia"s ministers appeal for calm Slovakia’s police will hold a press conference tomorrow, the country’s interior and defence minister told reporters outside the hospital in Banská Bystrica. Interior minister Matúš Šutaj-Eštok said officials will do everything possible to make sure that the people of Slovakia are safe. He said he was in the surgery theatre with Prime Minister Fico, and that “what was on my mind was how can anyone be this hateful?” He added: Please let’s not make hate the response to hate. That is an appeal to all politicians … I am asking this of all of society: let’s calm down. Let’s not start killing each other just because I can’t respect another’s opinion. He added that he personally believed that “there are a number of people who should take a look in the mirror” for contributing to this situation, and urged journalists, the public and politicians to “stop spreading hate”. We can’t respond to hate with hate. That is why I would like to ask you all to stop all this hate on social media, targeted at this or that political party … Stop it now, right now. Fico in "life-threatening" and "serious" condition – surgeon The surgeon working on Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, said his condition is “life-threatening” and “serious”, the country’s defence and interior ministers said. Fico has been undergoing surgery for more than three and a half hours now, they said, adding that there is a “huge medical team trying to reverse the effects of this assassination attempt”. Interior minister says attacker fired five shots in "politically motivated" attack Slovakia’s interior minister, Matúš Šutaj-Eštok, said the perpetrator of the attack fired at Robert Fico five times and the prime minister was in “critical condition”. He said initial information “clearly points to a political motivation” after Slovakia’s presidential election. He also urged journalists and politicians to “stop spreading hate” on social media, adding: What has started now was sown by many of you, by your hate. "The saddest moment in the history of Slovakia", says interior minister Slovakia’s interior minister, Matúš Šutaj-Eštok said Slovakia has always been known as “a country of people who are tolerant … and accepting of other opinions”. At a news conference outside the hospital, said: What happened today is a stigma that will haunt us for many years to come. All they are focusing on is Robert Fico’s condition “and we hope that he is strong enough to deal with this trauma”, he said. He added: Today is the saddest moment in the 31 years of history of Slovakia … An attack on the prime minister is an attack on democracy. It is an attack on the state itself. Fico in ‘extraordinarily serious’ condition and still in surgery as medics ‘fight for his life’, says minister Slovakia’s defence minister, Robert Kaliňák, has said the country’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is still undergoing surgery and is in “extraordinarily serious” condition. Kaliňák, in a news conference outside the hospital in Banská Bystrica, said medical workers are “fighting for the life” of Fico, who suffered “serious polytrauma after several shots”. Fico’s “health is serious, his situation is bad”, he said. We do not have good news at the moment and we put our hope in the hands of the medical specialists at the hospital. Kaliňák said the surgery has now been going on for three and a half hours, and that more medical information will be available later. Police are continuing to work at the scene of the shooting of Robert Fico, outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlová. Slovakian police have not yet issued a statement on the shooting incident. Here’s some more international reaction to the shooting of Robert Fico in what Slovakian officials have described as an assassination attempt: Anna Donáth, the president of Hungary’s liberal Momentum party, said: I was shocked by the assassination attempt on Robert Fico. We witnessed an attempted political assassination in the heart of Europe. Wishing the Slovak prime minister a swift recovery! Simon Harris, Ireland’s taoiseach said: I am deeply shocked by today’s attack on prime minister of Slovakia Robert Fico. The attack on Prime Minister Fico is an attack on democracy, a fundamental value of the European Union and one we all share. All of our thoughts and our solidarity are with Robert, his family and the Slovakian people. The suspect believed to have shot Robert Fico is a 71-year-old former security guard who approached the Slovakian prime minister after he left the House of Culture in Handlová, Sky News reported. A Slovakian reporter told the outlet that the suspect addressed Fico as “Robo” – a shortened version of Robert – before proceeding to shoot him multiple times. Thomas Verniek told Sky: We know the attacker was a senior former security guard, but that is all we know right now.