Questions were raised in Slovakia on Friday as the shock wore off. attempted assassination Prime Minister Roberto Fico’s worries are starting to give way to worries about what will happen next in the deeply polarized country.
While the prime minister is hospitalized, authorities have kept details about the attack, the attackers and even who the country’s leader is to a minimum. Officials said they will provide more information soon but the situation is sensitive.
They have not yet named the suspect – whom Slovakia’s interior minister described as a “lone wolf” who became radicalized after the incident. last month’s presidential election — nor did he say when he would appear in court. Accused of attempted murder. They called the shootings politically motivated and urged the public and politicians to tone down political rhetoric and hate while the investigation unfolds.
Local media reported on Friday that police escorted the suspect to his home in the central Slovak town of Levice, where they searched the house and seized documents. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Details of Mr Fico’s injuries and condition are also closely guarded. Local news outlets reported that doctors will meet on Monday to decide whether the prime minister can be transferred from the intensive care unit of a hospital in central Slovakia to the capital, Bratislava, where he underwent surgery.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told a news conference on Thursday that Fico’s condition was stable but “not yet out of danger” and that he faced a “difficult” recovery.
“I have to say that his health condition is very serious,” Slovakia’s president-elect Peter Pellegrini said after visiting Mr Fico in hospital in Banská Bystrica on Thursday afternoon.
There has been no formal announcement as to who will govern in Fico’s absence. Local news media quoted ministers as saying Mr Kalinak had been presiding over the meeting.
Authorities are opening two investigations, one into the attackers and another into the response of security forces at the scene, and have urged against hasty judgment.
Slovak officials acknowledged that police actions had been criticized. Local news outlets published interviews with security experts and analyzed the gunman’s actions and police response, trying to understand how the attackers fired at close range at least five times before being subdued.
Investigation is underway Against the backdrop of deep political differences in Slovakia. Fico has been pushing for a controversial judicial reform to limit the scope of corruption investigations, and he has also moved to reshape the national broadcasting system to remove the government’s alleged liberal bias.
Senior officials of Smer, Mr. Fico’s ruling party, actually accused liberal journalists and opposition politicians of inciting the assassination attempt through their strong criticism of the government’s actions. Nevertheless, Mr. Pellegrini, an ally of Mr. Fico, elected last monthhas been one of the loudest voices calling for calm.
With authorities lacking information, speculation has raged about the identity and motives of the attackers, prompting the Interior Ministry to alert Spreading “unconfirmed” details.
ministry said late thursday “A lot of misinformation” is circulating about the attack. On an existing website dedicated to fighting scams, it labeled unverified news reports that the suspect was a member of a Slovak paramilitary group and that his wife was a Ukrainian refugee as “untrue.” , but provides no verifiable information.
While officials warned that tensions risked spreading, some in Slovakia expressed concern about whether Fico might die and what might happen after he recovers.
“Society is very polarized today and after this attack it will become even more polarized,” translator Hana Klistincova, 34, said in an interview in Bratislava. more serious”. “I personally am not worried that the attack will be repeated – it was the impulsive act of one man – but I am worried about the impact it will have on society after our coalition leaders started blaming the opposition and the media, rightly so.”
Veronika Kladivikova, a 27-year-old seamstress from the central Slovak town of Banská Štiavnica, said she was shocked by the attack.
“Even families are divided. I feel that way in my own home,” she said, watching her children play in the park’s sandpit.
But she said she was “not scared right now,” adding, “I hope people stay sensible and don’t panic, let alone fight and divide each other.”
Sarasinkulova Contributed reporting.
