Fico, 59, was shot five times in the central town of Handlova on Wednesday after he left a government meeting. He was in critical condition and underwent several hours of emergency surgery.

“During the night, doctors managed to stabilise the patient’s condition,” Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera.

“Unfortunately, the condition is still very serious as the injuries are complicated,” said Kalinak, who is also the defence minister.

Miriam Lapunikova, the director of the FD Roosevelt University Hospital in Banska Bystrica where Fico was being treated, said he “had multiple gunshot wounds, the consequences of which will affect his recovery”.

“At this point, his condition has stabilised, but it is truly very serious, and therefore he will remain in the intensive care unit,” she added.

Later on Thursday, President-elect Peter Pellegrini, who won election in April, said he had spoken with Fico.

“He is able to speak but only a few sentences and then he is really tired because he is on some medication,” he told reporters.

The alleged attacker, a 71-year-old writer and former security guard, has been charged with attempted murder, said Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, reporting from Bankska Bystrica.

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told a news conference that the suspect had acted alone and had previously taken part in anti-government protests.

MNA