Slovak PM suffers shock election defeat after assassination bid

This frame grab made from Handout video footage made available by the Slovak government shows Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico speaking for the first time since being shot and wounded in an assassination attempt against him last month, in Bratislava, Slovakia on June 5, 2024. Agence France-Presse

BRATISLAVA — Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered a surprise defeat in EU elections to the opposition liberals on Sunday, weeks after he was gravely wounded in an assassination attempt, his party said.

Fico’s left-wing nationalist Smer-SD party expressed “congratulations to the winner of the election, Progressive Slovakia” and its new European parliament members, on its Facebook page.

Fico, 59, is an opponent of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

READ: Slovakia PM says targeted for Ukraine views in first speech since attack

The latest opinion polls had indicated that he was favorite to top the vote, in what was seen as a sign that the assassination bid had driven up support for his party.

Progressive Slovakia (PS) won 27.81 percent of the votes in Sunday’s election, meaning six seats in the European Parliament, according to results widely reported in Slovak media ahead of their official publication.

Smer-SD won 24.76 percent, yielding it five seats in the 720-member EU assembly.

Far-right party Republika came third with 12.53 percent and two seats, the results showed.

Fico was shot four times at close range on May 15 as he greeted supporters after a government meeting.

The alleged gunman, identified by Slovak media as 71-year-old poet Juraj Cintula, has been charged with premeditated attempted murder and remanded in custody.

READ: Slovak PM fights for his life after assassination attempt

In a video released on Wednesday, Fico blamed his opponents for fostering the “hatred” that led to the attack.

Political analyst Daniel Kerekes suggested the attack had mobilized PS supporters to vote just as much as Smer-SD ones.

“It is not only Smer-SD that has taken advantage of the attack. The opposition parties, particularly PS, whose voters are worried about the situation in Slovakia, have also made significant progress,” he told AFP.

PS chairman Michal Simecka, a former vice-president of the European Parliament, said voters had a sent “a very important message to this government: slow down, because you cannot do whatever you want.”

Turnout was higher than during previous EU elections in the country at just under 35 percent.