“I was very shocked ... fortunately as far as I know, the operation went well – and I guess in the end he will survive ... he’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment,” he told the BBC.

The gunman was named in local media reports as Juraj Cintula, a 71-year-old resident of the western town of Levice.

He is a self-described writer who previously worked as a security guard. In 2015, he founded the campaign group Against Violence, and had sought to get it officially registered.

Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi reported Cintula had past links to a pro-Russian paramilitary group, Slovenski Branci, known for its links to the Kremlin. The group shared a photo on Facebook in 2016 that included the suspect.

A member of NATO and the European Union, Slovakia has little history of political violence. Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden joined EU countries in expressing shock and condemnation of the shooting.

It came on the day parliament began discussing Fico’s government’s proposal to abolish the national public broadcaster, and replace it with an institution opponents fear will be far more passive towards him and his allies within the populist-nationalist coalition.

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said in a press conference that online hate was behind the attack, urging journalists, the public and politicians to “stop spreading hate”.

“We can’t respond to hate with hate. That is why I would like to ask you all to stop all this hate on social media, targeted at this or that political party.”

Other politicians linked the shooting to acute political divisions affecting the country.

Veteran leader

Fico, founder of the populist SMER party, began his fourth term in office in October leading a three-way Eurosceptic coalition. That grouping has been deeply at odds with liberal and pro-EU groups as it calls for tough anti-migrant measures and an end to sanctions against Russia.

His return to power sparked mass protests this year that echoed large-scale demonstrations in 2018 over the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old journalist who had been investigating alleged links between SMER and organised crime. Fico stepped down from his previous term amid those protests.

Describing the shooting as a “monstrous” crime, Putin said in a Telegram sent to Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova: “I know Robert Fico as a courageous and strong-minded man. I very much hope that these qualities will help him to survive this difficult situation”.

Biden offered help, saying in a statement: “We condemn this horrific act of violence.” He said the US embassy was in “close touch” with the Slovakian government and was “ready to assist”.

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The biggest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, called off a planned protest against the public broadcaster reforms that was set for Wednesday evening, local time.

During a three-decade career, Fico has moved between the pro-European mainstream and nationalistic positions opposed to EU and US policies. He has also shown a willingness to change course depending on public opinion or changed political realities.

An admirer of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fico has grown increasingly critical of Western support for Ukraine in its war with invading Russian forces and has expressed opposition to allowing Kyiv to join NATO in the future.

With agencies

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