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The deputy prime minister of Slovakia says that Prime Minister Robert Fico will survive the gun attack that left him in a critical condition. Tomas Taraba said that Mr Fico was no longer in a life-threatening situation. He was shot several times on Wednesday in what the interior minister described as a politically-motivated attack. Widely circulated video in Slovakia shows a man reportedly detained after the shooting. A leaked police recording reportedly shows him saying he disagrees with the government's media policy.

Slovak journalist Lukas Ondercanin has told Newsday that Mr Fico is a populist leader who's seen as a divisive figure in a politically polarised country. He says there are various reports about a possible motive for the attack.

"Probably he was acting alone, but now there is much higher security... there is a fear that there might be some kind of revenge from voters of Robert Fico... there is also heightened security around newsrooms, because some politicians already blamed the media for this."

(Image: Security officers move Slovak PM Robert Fico in a car after a shooting incident, after a Slovak government meeting in Handlova, Slovakia, May 15, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa)

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