Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, has called Wednesday’s shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico „shocking and appalling”.
„Who would have thought that such a brutal attack could happen in central Europe?!” Szijjártó said in a post on Facebook. „We hope and pray for his speediest possible recovery,” the minister said, emphasising Fico’s importance to Slovakian and European politics.
Slovakia’s ethnic Hungarian Alliance party condemned the attack, saying violence and polarisation „are not the right path, as violence only breeds more violence”. „We deeply condemn all forms of violence, and we must fight against it together,” the party told MTI. „We wish Robert Fico a quick recovery,” they said in a statement.
World leaders have also condemned the shooting.
The Slovak prime minister was shot in the town of Handlova (Nyitrabánya), some 150 kilometres northeast of Bratislava. He was taken to hospital and a suspect has been detained.