Slovakian police have charged a man, described as a politically motivated “lone wolf,” with the attempted murder of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is seriously ill in hospital after an assassination attempt that shocked the eastern European nation.

Fico was conscious and able to speak on Thursday afternoon, according to his long-time ally and the Slovakian President-elect Peter Pellegrini who visited him in the hospital.

He said the prime minister was still in serious condition after being shot five times from a close range and undergoing surgery.

The assassination attempt rocked the central European country and sparked global condemnation. Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the suspect told law enforcement officers that his action was motivated by his disagreement with the government and its reforms.

The 59-year-old populist leader, who returned to power last year and whose controversial policy changes have sparked protests in recent weeks, was attacked on Wednesday after an off-site government meeting in the town of Handlova.

Šutaj Eštok said the police was pursuing only one investigative theory – that the attack was politically motivated.

He said that the suspect told law enforcement officers that he disagreed with Fico’s policies and that he decided to act after the recent presidential election, which saw a Fico ally – Pellegrini – emerge as the winner.

“The reasons (the suspect gave) were the decision to abolish the special prosecutor’s office, the decision to stop supplying military assistance to Ukraine, the reform of public service broadcaster and the dismissal of the judicial council head,” Šutaj Eštok said.

He said the suspect is not a member of any extremist group, calling him “a lone wolf” who had in the past attended anti-government protests.

The alleged shooter has been identified by multiple local media outlets. Asked whether the 71-year-old described in some media as Juraj C. from Levice, a town in southwest Slovakia, is the suspect, the spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, Zuzana Drobová, told CNN on Thursday: “I can confirm this is the person who has been charged.”

Slovakian media reported the shooter was a writer and a poet. The Slovak Writers’ Association said Wednesday that the name identified in the local media was a member of the group.

The prime minister had approached a small crowd of people waiting to meet him, when the suspected gunman in the crowd lunged forward and shot him five times from across a security barrier. Footage from the scene showed the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside. Nobody else was injured in the attack.

The alleged shooter has been identified by multiple local media outlets as a 71-year-old man from southern Slovakia.

There has been no official confirmation of the identity of the shooter, but his face was clearly visible in some of the video footage of the attack and his subsequent arrest.

Slovakian media reported the shooter was a writer and a poet. The Slovak Writers’ Association said Wednesday that the name identified in the local media was a member of the group.