Explainer: Who is the Prime Minister of Slovakia who was shot, why were the people of the country angry with him?

Slovakia (On May 15, an attempt was made to kill Slovakia’s popular Prime Minister Robert Fico in the city of Handlova. Robert Fico was injured by a bullet during an assassination attempt. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he was operated on. Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba said that at present there is no threat to Fico’s life. It had only been six months since Robert Fico became Prime Minister. But it is believed that he and his coalition partners dealt a major blow to Slovakia’s institutions during this period. Because of which the people of the country were angry with him.

The attacker was identified by Slovakian media as Juraj Syntula, a 71-year-old poet who attempted to assassinate PM Robert Fico. According to information received from local media, Juraj Sintula is a former employee of a private security company and the author of a poetry collection. Fico, a four-time Prime Minister and political veteran, is accused of making Slovakia’s foreign policy in favor of the Kremlin (Russia).

4 bullets were fired, Fiko was hit in the stomach.
It is said that four bullets were fired outside the House of Culture in Handlova city, which hit Fico in the stomach. They had held a meeting at this place before being shot. The police detained the suspect and the incident site was sealed. An official message on the prime minister’s Facebook page said: “Today an attempt was made on the life of Robert Fico. He was shot several times. At present, he is being flown by helicopter to Banska Bystrica, as the road journey would take too long due to the need for immediate surgery. The next few hours will be important.”

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Who is Robert Fico, why are people angry with him?
– 59 year old Robert Fico was born in 1964 in the then Czechoslovakia. He is married and also has a child.
– He joined the Communist Party before the fall of communism, earned a law degree in 1986, and was elected to the Slovak Parliament for the first time in 1992 with the party of the Democratic Left.
– During the 1990s, Fico served as a government agent representing Slovakia before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission of Human Rights.
– In 1999, he became chairman of the Semar (Direction) Party and has been a leading figure in it since then. People often describe Fico and Semer as left-populists, although some have also compared them to the Hungarian Prime Minister, right-wing politician Viktor Orbán.
– Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. He first served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010 and then from 2012 to 2018. His third term made him Slovakia’s longest-serving head of government. Slovakia is a member of the European Union and NATO.

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– After being in opposition for five years, Fico’s party won parliamentary elections last year by becoming pro-Russian and anti-American. FICO ended Slovakia’s military support to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His argument was that NATO and the United States had provoked Ukraine into conflict.
– After victory in the elections, his government immediately stopped the delivery of weapons to Ukraine. Thousands of people protested against Fico’s pro-Russian policies and other initiatives, such as plans to amend the penal code and take control of public media.
– Fico’s withdrawal raised concerns among Slovakia’s pro-West as he vowed to pursue a ‘sovereign’ foreign policy, stricter immigration laws and campaign against LGBTQ rights.
– He was known for attacks on journalists and faced criminal charges in 2022 for allegedly forming a criminal group and abuse of power.
– In 2018, Fico and his government resigned after the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee. Kuciak was reporting on tax crimes involving high-level politicians.

(with input from AP)

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