Prime Minister Luis Montenegro condemned this Wednesday the “unacceptable and barbaric act of political violence” against his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, who was wounded in the shootout, and wished him a “full recovery.”
“On behalf of Portugal and on my own behalf, I express all solidarity with my colleague Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, wishing for his full recovery. We condemn with all our vehemence this unacceptable and barbaric act of political violence,” it said. The message was published on the official account of Luis Montenegro on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Shortly afterwards, at the start of a two-week debate with the Prime Minister in the Assembly of the Republic, Luis Montenegro began his speech by addressing, on behalf of the government, a “word of solidarity” to Robert Fico, declaring that he was “the target of an attack.”
I would like to “express my deep and strong condemnation of this act, which is inimical to the values of democracy and the exercise of political functions. We all hope that he can be restored as soon as possible,” he said, receiving applause from the half-cycle.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shootout in Handlov, about 150 kilometers from the capital, and was taken to hospital, according to local press reports.
TV channel TA3 reported that a suspect had been detained, and Slovak news agency TASR reported that Deputy Speaker of Parliament Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident.
Blaha spoke at a meeting of parliament, which has been suspended until further notice.
The shooting took place in front of the local House of Culture, where the prime minister was meeting with his supporters. The police have sealed off the area.
A reporter for the Dennik N daily newspaper heard gunshots and then saw rescuers carrying the prime minister to his car.