Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was seriously injured in an assassination attempt last month, has said that he expects to resume his work by the end of June, holding the opposition partly responsible for the attack.
The left-wing populist prime minister was critically wounded by several shots on May 15 when he stepped outside to join supporters after a government meeting in the small town of Handlová.
In his first public remarks since the attack, Fico said in a video message to the nation that he felt no hatred toward the attacker and expressed no intention of pursuing legal action against him.
However he blamed the opposition in part for the assassination attempt.
"On May 15, an activist of the Slovak opposition tried to assassinate me in Handlová because of my political views," said Fico, adding there was no reason to believe the attack was the act of a "lone lunatic."
"He was only a messenger of the evil and political hatred which the politically unsuccessful and frustrated opposition has developed in Slovakia," he added.
Fico said he had warned publicly for months that an attack on a government politician was imminent due to the hatred stirred up by the opposition and its affiliated media.
"I said this publicly, in the media, at press conferences and also to all the ambassadors of the EU and NATO countries in Slovakia."
Fico's attacker, who was detained immediately, is in police custody. During police questioning, the 71-year-old cited his disdain for Fico and governmental policies as justification for his actions.