Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s life is not in danger – Deputy Prime Minister
In an interview with the BBC, Deputy Prime Minister Taraba blamed “false narratives” by opposition parties in Slovakia for the shooting.
“Our prime minister has mentioned many times that he is afraid this will happen,” Mr. Taraba said in another interview with the BBC’s World Tonight program.
According to him, Mr. Fico warned that the way “the government is attacked by false stories can overheat the reaction of the people and lead to things like this”.
Parliament was in session at the time of the attack and Slovak media reported that a colleague in Mr. Fico’s party shouted at opposition lawmakers, accusing them of sparking the attack.
And Interior Minister Mr. Estok accused the media of contributing to the atmosphere that led to the 59-year-old’s shooting, telling a press conference: “Many of the You are the ones who spread this hatred.”
Mr. Estok added that he believes “this assassination [attempt] politically motivated”.
Reacting to news of the attack, outgoing Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova said something “so serious happened that we can’t even realize it yet”.
“The hateful words we witness in society will lead to hateful actions,” she added.
Mr. Fico returned to power in Slovakia after elections last September, as head of a populist-nationalist coalition. His first months as prime minister proved politically controversial. In January, he stopped military aid to Ukraine and last month approved a plan to abolish RTVS.
