By Radovan Stoklasa
HANDLOVA, Slovakia (Reuters) – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico held a government meeting under tight security at the site where he was shot a year ago, and accused the opposition of making the political atmosphere even more poisonous today.
Snipers were deployed on roofs and barriers erected around the culture centre in Handlova where Fico – the pro-Russian leader of a leftist-nationalist governing coalition – was hit by four bullets on May 15 last year.
Dozens of people who came to the square on the anniversary on Thursday had to pass through metal detectors as police lined the streets.
“The country is in a terrible shape when it comes to the hatred that we hear from the opposition all day long,” Fico told reporters at a briefing after he held his cabinet meeting at the site.
“We are a millimetre from another tragedy, and if it happens, (the victim) will be a representative of the ruling coalition,” he said.
Michal Simecka, the leader of the main opposition party, Progresivne Slovensko, accused Fico of deepening divisions himself.
“The attempt of the ruling coalition to lay the political responsibility on the opposition is precisely what leads to the tension in the society,” he told reporters.
Fico suffered serious wounds to his abdomen in the shooting last year, but recovered and returned to work months later.
Juraj C., the then 71-year-old man who was arrested after the shooting, has said he aimed to hurt, not kill Fico, and that he disagreed with Fico’s policies. His trial on terrorism charges is due to start on July 8.
Fico has said the attacker was in contact with a small opposition party – an assertion which that party denies.
Fico has stepped up criticism of his liberal opponents in the past year, accusing them of stoking hate.
He accused opposition politicians and activists of preparing a coup this year amid a series of protests against his government’s pro-Russian stance.
Fico returned to power in the EU and NATO member state with a 2023 election victory. His government has raised worries among the opposition and others due to moves to change criminal codes and revamp the public broadcaster.
Fico ended state military aid to Ukraine and is in dispute with Kyiv over the end of Russian gas transit this year.
Last week, Fico was the only European Union leader who visited Moscow for World War Two commemorations.
(Reporting by Radovan Stoklasa in Handlova and Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
