Outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Caputova appealed for public "calm" Thursday following an attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Caputova and her successor, President-elect Peter Pellegrini, spoke at a news conference at the presidential palace as the wounded premier lay in a hospital in "very serious" but stable condition, according to reports.

The Slovak presidency also planned to meet with leaders of all parliamentary parties at a joint session.

At Thursday's news conference, Pellegrini, a Fico ally, called the shooting "an attempted murder of democracy" -- and said bringing political leaders together at the presidential palace was a way to "calm things down" and show they reject violence.

"What happened yesterday [Wednesday] was an individual act, but the current atmosphere is a result of our collective actions," he said.

Pellegrini also said he was "shocked" as the incoming leader of a country that he said risks being "consumed by hatred." The president-elect also addressed the upcoming European Parliament elections. "I am asking [political parties] to suspend or reduce their campaigns ahead of the European Parliament elections," he said, according to international media.

The country's economy minister, Denisa Saková, told the TASR news agency that the government would meet in the coming hours to discuss how the country will be led in Fico's absence.

According to Labor Minister Erik Tomáš, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák is next in line to take over.

Shot Wednesday by a gunman whose motive is still unclear, Fico, 59, is in "very serious" condition but out of mortal danger, according to the Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, where he underwent hours of surgery.

The attack on the prime minister took place outside the local House of Culture, where Fico, 59, had just left a government meeting.

The prime minister was shot in the chest and abdomen by a 71-year-old man, who was arrested. Fico was taken to the hospital, where he remains.

Since taking office in 2023, Fico has halted Bratislava's military aid to Ukraine and called for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, drawing criticism from Ukrainian authorities and their European allies.

More recently, in early April, he shifted his position on the Ukraine conflict, advocating a peaceful solution that respects the country's "territorial integrity."

See Also: "Traitors". Attacker had demonstrated against Fico (and has been charged) (Portuguese version)