"He is tired". Robert Fico did not die "by millimeters", says the presidency
Slovak President-elect Peter Pellegrini visited the Slovak head of government and shared some information about his health condition. According to Pellegrini, the 'vice' will take over the functions for the time being.
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Mundo Eslováquia
Slovakia’s president-elect Peter Pellegrini visited Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday, saying they had a "very personal" conversation during which Fico was "very tired".
Pellegrini was quoted by the press as saying that the Slovak leader had a "narrow escape from death" and that if the "bullet wounds had been just a few millimetres to the side, we would be talking about a dead prime minister".
Speaking at a press conference after visiting Fico in hospital in the central Slovak town of Banska Bystrica, the president-elect said that Fico was "experiencing the worst hours and days of his life" and that he hoped he would recover.
The two men were able to talk for a few minutes, Pellegrini said, despite Fico’s condition remaining very serious.
"I hope that in the coming days the prime minister will be able to make some decisions, but in the meantime the deputy prime minister will take over his duties," the president-elect said.
Pellegrini, who has known Fico for more than two decades, said: "The doctor asked me to keep the visit very short. It was a very personal conversation about how he feels and I am very happy that he survived."
The president-elect said he had told Fico that he would "take care" of the current situation, and that political issues were not discussed during their conversation. "He was very, very tired and it was not possible to talk to him for longer or about any political situation," he said.
The prime minister was shot at least twice on Wednesday and is in a "serious condition". The gunman, a 71-year-old man, has been arrested and has admitted that the attack was politically motivated. He has been charged with attempted murder, which carries a potential life sentence as it was an attack on a head of state.
See also: Government confirms murder charge, Fico still in "mortal danger" (Portuguese version)
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