Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico still in serious condition, officials say

Slovakia's Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova, Minister of Defense Robert Kalinak and director of the F.D. Roosevelt University Hospital in Banska Bystrica Miriam Lapunikova hold a press conference outside the F.D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is hospitalised following an assassination attempt, in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, May 18, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (Reuters) -Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in serious condition and still faces risks of complications but has stabilised, officials said on Saturday, following Wednesday's assassination attempt.

The prime minister, 59, was shot at five times at point-blank range in an attack that sent shockwaves through Europe and raised concerns over the polarised state of politics in Slovakia, a central European country of 5.4 million people.