Leaders from the European Union and beyond expressed shock at the assassination attempt against Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, on Wednesday, even as the details of the shooting incident outside Bratislava, the capital, remained unclear.
Mr. Fico remains in the hospital in “life-threatening condition,” according to his staff.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, called the attack “vile” on social media. “Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” she added.
Charles Michel of the European Council, the other major European Union institution, expressed shock on social media and wrote, “Nothing can ever justify violence or such attacks.”
Mr. Fico has had a testy relationship with European Union partners, expressing pro-Russian views and at times siding with Hungary, the bloc’s closest Russian ally. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary and Mr. Fico’s personal ally, said he was “deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico.”
But such conflicts were put firmly aside as European leaders grappled with the attack against Mr. Fico, which has come just weeks before a major European Union-wide election is to be held between June 6 and 9.
Violent attacks, especially shootings, against elected officials have been extremely rare in recent European history.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine also took to social media to voice shock at the assassination attempt against Mr. Fico. While Slovakia’s support for Ukraine has waned recently, it was the first country to deliver fighter jets there when its war began.
“We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighboring partner state’s head of government,” wrote Mr. Zelensky. “Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere,” he said.
