01:49Andrej Danko, deputy speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and leader of the SNS party, asked some politicians and journalists if they were 'happy now' following the shooting of his 'personal friend' and PM Robert Fico, during a briefing in Bratislava on Wednesday.
"I wish for Robert Fico to overcome this situation, he is our friend. He is my personal friend, a person I personally like, although we fight in politics," he said. ""I am shocked because we have learned about the news that we still do not want to believe."
He singled out a number of reporters and news agencies for criticism.
"The hate from lunatics … in the parliament, as well as some news reporters, has created this tension in society," he alleged. "We were in anticipation of when something like this would happen to a politician."
"In the worst dream, we would not think of this being true, still, I hope that this will be explained, but I want to publicly condemn, in the name of the party Slovenska Narodna Strana (Slovak National Party), the members of parliament for this tyranny in society that had to escalate to this situation," he added."
The shooting took place outside the House of Culture following a government meeting. The alleged assailant, named in local media as 71-year-old Slovakian Juraj Cintula, was detained at the scene, while no details have been released by police about a possible motive.
The country's Interior Ministry reported that it was an 'assassination attempt'. A post on Fico's official social media stated that he 'has been shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition', while the 'next few hours will decide'.
Handlova lies 150km northeast of the capital Bratislava.
59-year-old Fico was elected in September 2023, marking his fourth period as PM and ran on a campaign of ending military support to Ukraine. He has opposed EU sanctions on Russia and the sending of arms to Kiev, saying the US and others should use their influence to bring about a peace deal.
'Are you happy now?' - National Council Deputy Speaker Danko takes aim at press, politicians following Fico shooting
Andrej Danko, deputy speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and leader of the SNS party, asked some politicians and journalists if they were 'happy now' following the shooting of his 'personal friend' and PM Robert Fico, during a briefing in Bratislava on Wednesday.
"I wish for Robert Fico to overcome this situation, he is our friend. He is my personal friend, a person I personally like, although we fight in politics," he said. ""I am shocked because we have learned about the news that we still do not want to believe."
He singled out a number of reporters and news agencies for criticism.
"The hate from lunatics … in the parliament, as well as some news reporters, has created this tension in society," he alleged. "We were in anticipation of when something like this would happen to a politician."
"In the worst dream, we would not think of this being true, still, I hope that this will be explained, but I want to publicly condemn, in the name of the party Slovenska Narodna Strana (Slovak National Party), the members of parliament for this tyranny in society that had to escalate to this situation," he added."
The shooting took place outside the House of Culture following a government meeting. The alleged assailant, named in local media as 71-year-old Slovakian Juraj Cintula, was detained at the scene, while no details have been released by police about a possible motive.
The country's Interior Ministry reported that it was an 'assassination attempt'. A post on Fico's official social media stated that he 'has been shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition', while the 'next few hours will decide'.
Handlova lies 150km northeast of the capital Bratislava.
59-year-old Fico was elected in September 2023, marking his fourth period as PM and ran on a campaign of ending military support to Ukraine. He has opposed EU sanctions on Russia and the sending of arms to Kiev, saying the US and others should use their influence to bring about a peace deal.
Andrej Danko, deputy speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and leader of the SNS party, asked some politicians and journalists if they were 'happy now' following the shooting of his 'personal friend' and PM Robert Fico, during a briefing in Bratislava on Wednesday.
"I wish for Robert Fico to overcome this situation, he is our friend. He is my personal friend, a person I personally like, although we fight in politics," he said. ""I am shocked because we have learned about the news that we still do not want to believe."
He singled out a number of reporters and news agencies for criticism.
"The hate from lunatics … in the parliament, as well as some news reporters, has created this tension in society," he alleged. "We were in anticipation of when something like this would happen to a politician."
"In the worst dream, we would not think of this being true, still, I hope that this will be explained, but I want to publicly condemn, in the name of the party Slovenska Narodna Strana (Slovak National Party), the members of parliament for this tyranny in society that had to escalate to this situation," he added."
The shooting took place outside the House of Culture following a government meeting. The alleged assailant, named in local media as 71-year-old Slovakian Juraj Cintula, was detained at the scene, while no details have been released by police about a possible motive.
The country's Interior Ministry reported that it was an 'assassination attempt'. A post on Fico's official social media stated that he 'has been shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition', while the 'next few hours will decide'.
Handlova lies 150km northeast of the capital Bratislava.
59-year-old Fico was elected in September 2023, marking his fourth period as PM and ran on a campaign of ending military support to Ukraine. He has opposed EU sanctions on Russia and the sending of arms to Kiev, saying the US and others should use their influence to bring about a peace deal.