(Bratislava) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday accused his opponents of fueling the “hatred” that led to a failed attempt to assassinate him, in his first speech since the attack.
Appearing calm but taking long pauses during his videotaped speech posted on his Facebook site, Mr. Fico, 59, announced that he was ready to return to work this month.
“I have no hatred toward the stranger who shot me,” Mr. Fico said.
“I forgive him and let him think about what he did and why he did it,” he added.
However, according to the head of government, the shooter was not “a madman”, but someone who had become a “messenger of evil and political hatred” maintained by the opposition in Slovakia.
Mr. Fico was hit by four bullets fired at point-blank range on May 15 as he greeted supporters after a government meeting in the town of Handlova.
The alleged perpetrator, identified by Slovak media as poet Juraj Cintula, 71, was charged with attempted premeditated murder and placed in pre-trial detention.
Mr. Fico was taken to a hospital in Banska Bystrica, where he underwent two lengthy surgeries.
He remained in recovery before being transferred home to continue his home care on May 31.
“If everything goes as planned, I could gradually return to work at the turn of June and July,” Mr. Fico said in his recording.
But most of his 14-minute message is devoted to a vigorous defense of his views and accusations against his political opponents, critical media and nongovernmental organizations.
“The opposition was unable to assess […] where its aggressive and hateful policies led part of society, and it was only a matter of time for a tragedy to occur,” he said. -he says.
“If the situation does not change, the horror of May 15 will continue and there will be other victims. I don’t doubt it for a second,” he insisted.
Mr. Fico returned to power following last year’s elections. He had already led the government from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.
In 2018, he was forced to resign after the murder of an investigative journalist exposed high-level corruption, sparking a wave of anti-government sentiment.
Since returning to power last October, Mr. Fico has made a series of statements that have soured relations between Slovakia and neighboring Ukraine.
He questioned Kyiv’s sovereignty and called for compromise with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Since its election, Slovakia has stopped sending weapons to Ukraine.
Mr. Fico has also sparked massive protests in response to controversial laws, including a media law that his critics say will undermine the impartiality of public television and radio.