The attack underlined the deep political divisions in Slovak society. (File)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s condition is improving following an assassination attempt earlier this month, the government and hospital said on Monday.
An attacker hit Fico with four bullets at point-blank range as the prime minister greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak city of Handlova on May 15.
Fico, 59, was hit in the abdomen and taken to a hospital in the regional capital Banska Bystrica in serious condition. He immediately underwent an operation that lasted more than five hours and again two days later.
He has been doing better since then, FD Roosevelt University Hospital said in daily updates, and studies confirmed that on Monday.
“Based on the examination results, today’s meeting of the medical council confirmed the gradual improvement of the prime minister’s health condition,” the government said, without further details.
The attack, the first major assassination of a European political leader in more than two decades, underlined the deep political divisions in Slovak society.
Police arrested the attacker on the spot. Prosecutors later charged the man, identified as Juraj C., with first-degree murder, and a court ordered him taken into custody.
The 71-year-old man told the court that he wanted to hurt and not kill the Slovak prime minister because he disagreed with government policy and had used a weapon he had owned for more than 30 years, according to court records. a court document.
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