As we’ve been reporting, Robert Kalinak, Slovak minister of defence, and Matus Sutaj Estok, minister of interior, have given a news conference, updating the media on Prime Minister Robert Fico’s state of health.
They also spoke strongly about the “hatred sown” by the media and people “railing at other people” on social media.
Robert Fico’s first few months as prime minister have proved highly contentious politically – he returned to power in Slovakia after elections last September, at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition.
In January he halted military aid to Ukraine and last month pushed through plans to abolish public broadcaster RTVS.
Thousands of Slovaks have protested against the proposed reform of the public broadcaster in recent weeks. However, a planned opposition-led demonstration was called off on Wednesday as news of the shooting emerged.
Parliament was sitting at the time of the attack and Slovak media reported that a party colleague of Fico’s shouted at opposition MPs, accusing them of stoking the attack.
President-elect Peter Pellegrini, who is a political ally of Fico’s, said he was horrified to hear of the attack and also blamed the shooting on recent political divisions.
Describing the attack as an “unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy” he said people did not have to agree on everything, but there were many ways to express disagreement democratically and legally.
BBC NEWS
