Slovak PM Robert Fico Expected to Survive Attack from “Lone Wolf”

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Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico Shot and Wounded

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is expected to survive the assassination attempt that was made on him earlier this week. The mainstream press is describing Fico as a “divisive” figure due to his “pro-Russian” views, and is labeling his attacker a “lone wolf” without political affiliation.

As THAIMBC News previously reported, Robert Fico was shot and wounded on Wednesday as he greeted crowds that gathered outside a community center where a government meeting had been held in the town of Handlova. He was taken to the hospital and the alleged attacker was captured by the police.

Initial reports from local outlets indicate that the shooter’s name is Juraj Cintula, a man described as a liberal writer and activist. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said he “can confirm that this person is not a member of any right-wing or left-wing radicalized party.” Citing local media reports and noting that they are still “unconfirmed,” the Associated Press describes Cintula as a “71-year-old retiree who was known as an amateur poet, and may have previously worked as a security guard at a mall in the country’s southwest.”

However, Estok added that Cintula confessed his dissatisfaction with a number of Fico’s policies when being questioned about his motivations for the attack. Recent presidential elections were a contributing factor, and Cintula even attended an anti-government protest in the weeks leading up to the shooting.

“I can confirm to you that the reason it was a politically motivated, attempted premeditated murder is as the suspect himself said: the media information that he had at his disposal,” Estok said. “I think each of you can reflect on the way you presented it,” referring to the members of the press.

Fico reportedly put a pause on arms deliveries to Ukraine when he assumed the Prime Minister’s office (for the fourth time in his career), a seismic change from the outgoing administration which heavily supported Ukraine.

A clip from SkyNews disturbed social media users as the news hosts seemingly attempted to justify the assassination. The reporter said:

“Slovakia is a very conflicted place at the moment […] He’s become very pro-Russian over the years, and one wonders why, and how, but maybe that’s his conviction. Like Viktor Orban in Hungary, he’s set his teeth against going along with EU sanctions, common procurement. […] They dig their toes in against aid to Ukraine or against any sort of sympathy with Kyiv. And they keep saying, “we want to the war to finish,” and by that they mean they want the Russians to succeed and then the war would be over if Ukraine would just surrender and just give up territory. And so that’s the view he takes. Now, that’s very decisive in Slovakia, it’s divisive within the EU. So it’s not surprising that this sort of “event” might take place, because it’s a very unhappy country at the moment—not just on this basis, but on the basis of how the country is going in general toward a more authoritarian future or a more conventual, west European future.”

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