Recovering Slovakia’s PM Forgives Shooter But Blames Opposition

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BRATISLAVA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has blamed the opposition for last month’s attempt on his life and said he was punished for anti-war views.

In his first appearance since being detained, Fico also said he would not press charges against the shooter and does not need any compensation. “I forgive him. He was merely a messenger of the evil and political hatred created by the unsuccessful and frustrated opposition.”

Fico, 59, was seriously injured on May 15 when he was shot in the town of Handlová, about 150 kilometers (94 miles) from the capital Bratislava.

He was fired upon at close range and suffered multiple gunshot wounds, footage obtained by Worthy News showed.

Fico recalled that he had been rushed to hospital and spent some time in intensive care.

“The medical team at the hospital in Banská Bystrica was able to prevent the worst,” Fico said in a video message on his Facebook website page.

SMALL MIRACLE

He hopes “if all goes well” to be able to return to work at the end of June or early July. “It would be a small miracle.”

A 71-year-old suspect named Juraj Cintula was arrested immediately after the attack and charged with attempted murder.

Slovak authorities said the man, an erratic pensioner and amateur poet with a weapons permit, had a “political motive” for the assassination attempt: he disagreed with the prime minister’s policies.

At the time of the shooting, the country’s interior minister described Cintula as a “lone wolf” who had recently become radicalized.

But Fico contradicted his minister, saying he did not believe the shooter was just a “lone madman.”

He also repeated his earlier views of Russia’s war on Ukraine and other issues that sharply differ from the European mainstream.

OPPOSING WEAPONS

Like his close ally, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of neighboring Hungary, Fico opposes sanctions against Russia and military aid for Kyiv.

Yet Fico’s critics have accused him of using the attack against him to further crackdown on the country’s democratic institutions, including the media.

Fico’s address on Wednesday indicated that the politician was eager to speak before the upcoming European Parliament elections.

His Smer party and the main opposition, Progressive Slovakia, are locked in a tight race, and it was unclear how much the speech had impacted voters’ thinking.

Journalists in the country hope the shooting won’t lead to even more polarization and “a crackdown on independent voices.”

But they admitted that seemed wishful thinking.

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