Slovakian PM 'not out of woods' after shooting

The Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, was in a stable condition but "not out of the woods yet", officials said yesterday, as the country's president-elect pleaded for unity after a shooting that laid bare deep political divisions in recent months.

- Pjotr Sauer , Ashifa Kassam

The first major assassination attempt on a European political leader in more than 20 years sent shockwaves across the continent, with leaders linking the violence to an increasingly febrile and polarised political climate in the run-up to European parliament elections in June.

"It is shocking to see that someone can become the victim of his political ideas. Three weeks ahead of the elections, that is extremely alarming," said Belgium's prime minister, Alexander De Croo, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. "Let's make it an intense campaign when it comes to words, but not beyond that."

Slovakia's interior minister, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, described the attack as politically motivated and said the suspect was a man acting alone and who had participated in anti-government protests. "This is a lone wolf who had radicalised himself in the latest period after the presidential election," Eštok told reporters.

That election, won by Fico's ally Peter Pellegrini in April, heightened tensions in the country, where Fico has pursued a divisive agenda since returning for a third stint as prime minister in October.

The defence minister, Robert Kaliňák, said Fico was in a stable condition, though it was too early to say the outlook was positive. "He's still not out of the woods yet," Kaliňák said. "I cannot say yet that we are winning or that the prognosis is positive."

At least five shots were fired at Fico, 59, on Wednesday as he met a small group of supporters after a government meeting in the town of Handlová, about 90 miles north-east of the capital, Bratislava. The suspect, identified by local media as Juraj Cintula, 71, has been charged with premeditated attempted murder.