Slovakia PM attacker ‘may not have been lone wolf’
The man suspected of attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Robert Fico may not have acted alone, according to Slovakia’s interior minister.
An investigation is underway to determine if Wednesday’s attack was carried out by more than just a “lone wolf,” Matus Sutaj Estok stated to reporters on Sunday.
After undergoing hours of surgery, Mr. Fico is no longer in immediate danger but still needs intensive care, as confirmed by his deputy earlier.
On Saturday, the suspect charged with the attempted murder was placed in custody until his trial.
Although the alleged assailant has not been officially named, Slovak reports have identified him as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula from the town of Levice.
Local media describe Cintula as a poet involved in political organizations with various ideologies.
At a press conference on Sunday, Mr. Estok mentioned that an investigation team had been established to examine whether the suspect was part of a group that may have incited and supported one another.
He based this on intelligence suggesting that two hours after the attack, and following the suspect’s detention, his Facebook and communication history were deleted.
The day after the assassination attempt, Mr. Estok had initially stated in a news conference that the suspect had acted alone and had previously participated in anti-government protests.
Earlier on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak reassured reporters that Mr. Fico’s life was no longer in danger but noted that his condition still required intensive care, saying, “the worst we feared at least for now has passed.”
“We can consider his condition stable with a positive prognosis,” he said outside the hospital where Mr Fico is being treated in the city of Banska Bystrica, “We all feel a bit more relaxed now.”
He added that Mr Fico would stay at Banska Bystrica for the moment, with a transfer not possible in the near future due to his condition.
The prime minister was shot at close range as he was greeting supporters after a government meeting in the small town of Handlova.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said that if one of the shots “went just a few centimetres higher, it would have hit the prime minister’s liver”.
The attack has left Slovakia deeply shocked. On Thursday, Slovakia’s outgoing President Zuzana Caputova appealed for calm and invited all party leaders to a meeting to discuss political tension.
Mr Fico returned to power in Slovakia after elections last September, at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition.
The political climate in the country has since turned particularly hostile – although the divisions date back to at least 2018, when a journalist investigating high-level corruption claims was murdered.
Mr Fico was forced to step down then, amid giant protests.
His re-election was a major comeback achieved on a platform that included promises to end military aid to Kyiv and veto Ukraine’s Nato ambitions, as well as other talk more reminiscent of Moscow than Brussels.
