Who is Robert Fico? Slovakian PM who opposed sanctions on Russia, pledged to ... trends now
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been left in a life-threatening condition after being shot by an unidentified assailant on Wednesday.
The 59-year-old took power for the fourth time last October. In that time, he has turned the country's foreign policy towards more pro-Russian views and pledged to stop military support for Ukraine.
He has also initiated reforms of criminal law and the media, which have raised concerns over weakening the rule of law.
During a three-decade career, Fico has skilfully weaved between pro-European mainstream and nationalistic anti-Brussels and anti-American positions.
He has done this while showing a willingness to change course depending on public opinion or changed political realities - but not without controversy.
In 2022, he was charged with organised crime offences and faced questions after an investigative journalist - who was working on a story about the activities of the Italian mafia in his country and their links to people close to Fico - was shot dead in 2018.
The murders of Ján Kuciak, 28, and his fiancée Martina Kušnirová brought down Fico's government at the time. However, the 2022 organised crime charges were later dropped and he went on to be re-elected in 2023.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been left in a life-threatening condition after being shot by an unidentified assailant on Wednesday
As well as his current stint as premier, Fico also headed the government in 2006-10 and 2012-18, but he has embraced more extreme positions over the past four years.
These include strident criticisms of western allies, pledges to stop military support for Kyiv, opposition to sanctions on Russia and threats to veto any future NATO membership invite for Ukraine.
Ruffling feathers in the UK, he also once said Britain must 'suffer' for Brexit.
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His coalition halted Slovak official shipments of weapons for Ukraine and he has spoken about what he called western influence in the war which only led to Slavic nations killing each other.
Fico has remained steady throughout his career, however, on promises to protect living standards of those left behind in a country where conditions for many are only slowly catching up to western Europe.
Many of his supporters hold relatively fond memories of a communist-era past.
'Fico is a technician of power, by far the best in Slovakia. He does not have a counterpart at the moment,' said sociologist Michal Vasecka, from the Bratislava Policy Institute.
'Fico is always following opinion polls, understands what is happening' in society.
His campaign call of 'Not a single round' for Ukraine appealed to voters in the nation of 5.5 million where only a minority in the NATO member country believe Russia is at fault for the Ukraine war, which was started by Vladimir Putin in 2022.
Fico, who analysts see inspired by Hungary's Viktor Orban, has said he has Slovak interests at heart and wants the war to end.
Robert Fico (pictured centre) being carried away by security officials into a car after he was shot in Handlova, north-east of Bratislava, following a Slovak government meeting
Security officers move Slovak PM Robert Fico in a car after a shooting incident, after a Slovak government meeting in Handlova, Slovakia, May 15, 2024
Police arrest a man after Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Western allies and Ukraine say halting military aid to Kyiv would only help Russia.
'We see Viktor Orban as one of those European politicians who do not fear to openly defend the interests of Hungary and Hungarian people,' Fico told Reuters in emailed
