Bratislava, May 16 (IANS/DPA): The condition of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is "still serious" following the assassination attempt a day ago, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said on Thursday after a special meeting of the Security Council in Bratislava.

Kalinak, who is also deputy prime minister, said that Fico had been hit by four bullets and they had cause serious injuries.

"The doctors have managed to stabilise his condition," he said, but stressed Fico is not yet out of danger. "We have had a difficult night," Kalinak said.

Experts in Slovakia have criticised the security precautions for Fico after Wednesday's assassination attempt.

"Fico himself spoke a few weeks ago about the danger of someone shooting at politicians," former Slovakian police chief Stefan Hamran told the Dennik N newspaper on Thursday. He wondered who had analysed this and assessed the threat.

He also criticised the reaction of security staff after the shots were fired. "There was chaos there, that is obvious and that is a failure."

The former head of the Slovakian personal security unit, Juraj Zabojnik, also criticized the prime minister's bodyguards. "If four or five shots can be fired, someone is to blame," he told the news channel TA3. He said he had not seen any of the bodyguards stand in front of the head of government.

Fico was shot on Wednesday as he shook hands with members of the public after a Cabinet meeting in Handlova.