Second operation for Slovakia's Prime Minister Fico

Doctors operated on Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico again on Friday, two days after the attempt on his life, government and hospital officials said.

The procedure was a "standard step," according to Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak and the head of the hospital in the regional capital Banská Bystrica, Miriam Lapunikova. Their comments were reported by the TASR news agency. The two did not go into detail.

Fico, 59, remains in intensive care and it is unclear if he will make a full recovery.

Fico was hit by four shots and underwent five hours of surgery in the Banská Bystrica hospital on Wednesday, according to information provided earlier by Kalinak and Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok.

The severity of the injuries could make recovery difficult and Fico will "have to relearn many things," Kalinak said. Even if Fico is responsive in hospital, there is still no final certainty "that we have won."

Health experts noted that complications after the operation could still be life-threatening. Kalinak is standing in for Fico during his absence.

The government office in Bratislava said additional information on the prime minister's state of health will be released "when the situation allows."

The office called on the media, politicians and the general public to disseminate only officially confirmed information, saying misleading false information and speculation have also been reported by the media.

Former president hopes country's caustic climate can cool

Slovakia's former president Ivan Gašparović on Friday expressed hopes that a deep schism within the country will be overcome following the Fico attack.

"Slovakia is totally divided," 83-year-old Gašparović lamented on Czech public television, adding that society had at least found some unity in this terrible moment.

"Even those who have completely different views on Fico and politics in Slovakia have realized that things can't go on like this," said Gašparović, a lawyer who headed the country from 2004 to 2014.

The National Council, Slovakia's unicameral parliament, had become "a circus tent and a boxing ring" where politicians' private affairs are discussed or hatred is spread, he continued.

A 71-year-old suspect was charged on Thursday with the attempted murder of Fico following the attack on Wednesday in which the prime minister was hit as he greeted supporters in a square in the central Slovakian town of Handlová.

Authorities described the suspect as a "lone wolf" motivated by political grievances.