# Slovakia Prime Minister in Attempted Assassination
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [May 15, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598 "2024-05-15T18:21:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598/1 "2024-05-15T18:21:06Z")
> **[Live updates: Shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico](https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/robert-fico-slovakia-prime-minister-shooting-05-15-24/index.html)**
>
> Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a life-threatening condition after being shot in an "assassination attempt," an official statement says. Follow for live news updates.
My family’s from Slovakia so a lot of natural affiliation. What a bummer for the country.
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### Author:  [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598/2 "2024-05-15T21:09:37Z")
My mind immediately went to Putin, but this guy is pro-Russian. He is coming into office promising to stop all support for Ukraine. Slovakia is deeply divided. I hope he pulls through, but he does not look like the sort of politician who would be good for Slovakia or peace in Europe.
@Eric1 - No doubt you know a lot more about it than me so I would be interested to hear your thoughts and if my possibly ignorant comments are valid.
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### Author:  [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598/3 "2024-05-16T10:01:57Z")
It’s true how you wrote it about his stances not being so beneficial to the country. I wasn’t well informed about him. The next updates said he had some surgery to deal with all his wounds and might be stabilizing. The comment from Zelenskyy about him was really kind.
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### Author:  [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598/4 "2024-05-16T13:10:02Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#):
>
> My mind immediately went to Putin, but this guy is pro-Russian.
From what I’ve read, Fico’s party has been explicitly blaming the assassination attempt on opposition parties and the media. I would not be surprised at all to learn this was a Putin’s work to foment a crackdown on the opposition.
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### Author:  [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598/5 "2024-05-16T13:26:54Z")
I’ve seen it reported that [the malefactor wanted to found a political movement - and is a poet in his 70s](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69019121). Which rather suggests a lone actor with his own issues. Not that that rules out manipulation by external forces, but it doesn’t sound likely to me.
But for some reason there has been a surge in attacks on politicians, and increasingly polarised discourse, in a number of European countries:
> **[EU leaders condemn ‘cowardly’ shooting of Slovakian PM amid rise in attacks](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/15/eu-leaders-condemn-cowardly-shooting-of-slovakian-pm-robert-fico)**
>
> Growing alarm over escalating violence on campaign trails in weeks leading to European parliament elections
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### Author:  [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slovakia-prime-minister-in-attempted-assassination/1001598/6 "2024-05-19T05:40:14Z")
It looks like the prime minister’s stable after all that surgery. Hopefully their govt is able to easily bring in a substitute to fill in for him, like the US govt has succession.
[Slovak PM Fico in serious condition; shooting suspect appears in court](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/slovak-pm-fico-serious-condition-shooting-suspect-appears-court-rcna152892)