Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico posted a speech online on Wednesday, his first appearance since he was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt three weeks ago. In a prerecorded speech on his Facebook ahead of the European Parliament election, Fico said the attack caused serious damage to his health and that 'it will be a small miracle if I return to work in several weeks.
Seemingly in good shape as he spoke, Fico pledged to be back at work at the end of June, beginning of July, and said he felt 'no hatred' towards his attacker. 'I forgive him,' he said, adding he planned no legal action against the assailant. Still, he slammed the opposition and others, saying: 'After all, it’s evident that he only was a messenger of evil and political hatred.
It’s cruel to state that, but a right to have a different opinion has ceased to exist in the European Union,' he said, blaming unspecified Western countries for the alleged situation. Fico was released from a hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica last week, and taken to his home in Bratislava, where he continues to recuperate.
Fico immediately underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later. His government has made efforts to overhaul public broadcasting — a move critics said would give the government full control of public television and radio. That, along with his plans to amend the penal code to eliminate a special anti-graft prosecutor, has led opponents to worry that he would lead Slovakia down a more autocratic path.
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