Bratislava, May 15 (TASR) - I see the armed attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) as an attack on the principles of Slovak democracy, Parliamentary Vice-chair Peter Ziga (Voice-SD), who has been temporarily entrusted with the powers of the House chair, stated at a press briefing in Parliament on Wednesday.

Ziga considers it to be the result of inflamed passions and the division of Slovak society into two irreconcilable camps. He expects this act to be condemned by everyone.

"We're facing today a fundamental challenge of how to calm down society. How to start a dialogue to put political competition back where it belongs. Politics is fought with arguments, violence must never have a place here," he stated.

Ziga called the incident that happened in Handlova after the government meeting terrible. "Such a terrible act has never happened in Slovakia's history," he said, expressing a belief that everything will turn out well and Fico will be out of danger to his life.

Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha (Smer-SD) strongly condemned the attack on Fico. He also expressed his "severe disgust" at what he believes has been perpetrated by the political opposition and the so-called liberal media in recent years. He claims that they have spread hatred. "It's an attack on every citizen of the Slovak Republic," he said.