Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico may become a more destructive force in the EU than his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban after the assassination attempt, some European officials fear. There are also fears that he will become more active in opposing NATO actions.
This is reported by the Financial Times newspaper, citing its sources.
So far, Fico has acted in solidarity with Orban on some issues, but has not taken radical steps and “certainly did not belong to Orban's league,” according to one of the newspaper's interlocutors. But after the assassination attempt, Fico is capable of taking revenge on his opponents, he suggests.
Before the assassination attempt, Fico had joined Orban in opposing the candidacy of acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the post of NATO secretary general, the publication recalls. He also emphasized that Slovakia was against Ukraine's admission to NATO.
“Fico is making clever calculations combined with vindictiveness towards those who overthrew him in 2018 (then he left the post of prime minister because of the scandal with the murder of a journalist - Ed.), including a long list of journalists, prosecutors and civil society activists,” a Western diplomat told the publication.
Fico returned to power in Slovakia after elections last September at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition. His re-election was an important political revenge achieved on a platform that included promises to cut off military aid to Kyiv and veto Ukraine's NATO aspirations, as well as other statements closer to Moscow's position than Brussels'.
Recall, May 15, 59-year-old Robert Fico was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in the small town of Handlova. Fico was shot four times in the stomach and arm at close range as he greeted supporters, and his wounds were reportedly extensive and difficult to operate on.
The Slovakian prime minister's condition is now assessed as stable. Doctors say he is on the mend, while noting that his wounds were serious, requiring a long and complicated recovery. The prime minister is conscious and can communicate with people, medics said.
