Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has moved to home care from a hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica, where he had been recovering from an assassination attempt, the hospital said on Friday.

An attacker shot Fico with four bullets at close range when the prime minister greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova on May 15.

The attack left Fico, 59, in a serious condition and needing a five-hour operation and another one two days later.

The attacker, identified as 71-year old Juraj C., was detained on the spot and charged with attempted premeditated murder.

The incident - the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader for more than 20 years - has highlighted the deep polarisation of politics in the central European country of 5.4 million people.