List of author's articles, page 12
Insiders and outsiders
FEW have ever thought that Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government is exceedingly minority-friendly or that it is making Slovakia more open to diversity. However, the latest quirky political matrimony between the ruling Smer, a self-declared social democratic party, with the conservative Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), leaves very little doubt about the attitude of Slovakia’s government and part of the opposition towards minorities or the concept of a modern diverse society in general.
UPDATED: Slovakia amends its constitution
BORN from a peculiar union between the ruling Smer and the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), a revision to the country’s constitution sailed through parliament on June 4, defining marriage as a “unique bond between a man and a woman” and introducing the ruling party’s remedies for the judiciary, including the disputed clearances for judges. LGBTI activists intend to challenge the legislation with the Constitutional Court.
Disputed revision to constitution sails through parliament
BORN from a peculiar union between the ruling Smer and the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), a revision to the country’s constitution sailed through parliament on June 4, defining marriage as a “unique bond between a man and a woman” and introducing the ruling party’s remedies for the judiciary, including the disputed clearances for judges.
The apathy blame game
SLOVAKIA managed to avoid serious trauma despite posting the lowest ever voter turnout in the recent European Parliament elections. At 13 percent, Slovakia was the most uninterested nation in the European Union and pundits were busy pondering why it was possible for someone to reach the EP with as few as 14,896 votes. The explanations vary, but the fact that this is a real crisis for democracy is not in question.
Record low election turnout blurs results
SLOVAKIA has set a new record for low turnout in the elections to the European Parliament, with just 13.05 percent of Slovaks going to the polling stations on May 24, as experts cite voter fatigue from the recent presidential elections and a generally negative campaign as the main explanations.
Chłoń: It is easier to mobilise protest voters
IT’S NOT necessarily the majority that did not want the Olympic Games, Polish Ambassador to Slovakia Tomasz Chłoń says, adding that in today’s Europe it is somehow easier to mobilise protest voters rather than those who would support such a project. The Slovak Spectator spoke to Chłoń about a referendum in which inhabitants of the Polish city of Krakow said ‘no’ to the bid to organise the Winter Olympic Games in 2022.
Harabin's parallel universe
ŠTEFAN Harabin has not mastered the art of departure, thus joining the extensive family of Slovak public figures who chose to interpret rejection as endorsement, defeat as victory and a lack of public confidence as confirmation that they are the right person in the right place at the right time. Harabin’s many critics called May 19, the day when he failed in his bid for re-election as the head of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council, good news for the country - the beginning of a long-awaited change, a day of hope and a victory for the people.
Presidential office staffer in bar brawl
THE HEAD of the Presidential Office’s public relations section, Dárius Rusnák, a former ice hockey player, verbally attacked two women for speaking Hungarian in a bar, after which he provoked a physical fight with two younger men who stood up in defence of the women, according to a report in Új Szó, the Hungarian-language daily, which cited one of the women as its source.
Smer wins EP vote; turnout at 13 percent
ONLY 13.05 percent of Slovak voters cast their vote in the elections to the European Parliament (EP) remaining true to the country’s reputation of posting low turnouts since joining the European Union in 2004.
Smer wins EP vote, turnout 13 percent, according to unofficial results
LESS than 13 percent of Slovak voters cast their vote in the elections to the European Parliament (EP), according to unofficial results, remaining true to the country’s reputation of posting low turnouts since joining the EU in 2004.
UPDATED: Harabin fails in re-election bid
CRITICS of Štefan Harabin rejoiced after they saw him fail in his May 19 bid for re-election as the head of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council, the body overseeing the country’s judiciary. Harabin, however, rejects that his failure to collect at least 10 of the 16 votes from members of the Judicial Council in the first and second round of the election actually means that his term at the helm of the Supreme Court is over.
Bora topples 2 million trees
A BORA, a specific type of massive katabatic windstorm, toppled almost two million trees in Slovakia and also damaged younger forest vegetation that had been replanted after a 2004 windstorm, when the Tatra Mountains, the country’s most popular tourist destination, saw entire forests levelled. The windstorm, which hit Slovakia on May 15, damaged 130,000 trees in the Tatra National Park (TANAP) alone, while 5,000 trees fell in areas with the highest degree of protection.
UPDATED: Harabin fails to get re-elected; claims victory
CRITICS of Štefan Harabin rejoiced after they saw him fail on May 19 in his bid for re-election as the head of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council, the body overseeing the country’s judiciary. Harabin, however, rejects that his failure to collect at least 10 of the 16 votes of members of the Judicial Council in the first and second round of the election actually means that his term at the helm of the Supreme Court is over.
GDP data outpaces market expecations
SLOVAKIA’S economy exceeded the expectations of market watchers when in the first quarter it grew by 2.4 percent year-on-year. Compared to its performance in the last quarter of 2013 when it grew by 1.5 percent, the flash estimate released by the statistics authority on May 15 represents a rather significant acceleration. Though detailed numbers are not available, analysts attribute the rosier results to growing household consumption, foreign trade and government spending.
Kováčik re-elected for 3rd term
SPECIAL prosecutor Dušan Kováčik, whom Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák called the right man in the right place, was re-elected on May 15 by parliament. Political ethics watchdogs groups had argued that after a decade on the job it was time for Kováčik to be replaced.
Watchdogs want Harabin out
BACK in 2009, amid protests by political ethics groups, Štefan Harabin went straight from the Justice Ministry, controlled by the controversial Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), to lead the Supreme Court as well as the Judicial Council, a body which oversees the functioning of the judiciary. Five years later, political ethics watchdogs, artists, journalists and other public figures, are on alert once again as Harabin seeks re-election.
Scientology and short-term memory
“SCIENTOLOGY” was a buzzword in Robert Fico’s presidential campaign, which largely revolved around falsely insisting that his main rival Andrej Kiska – who in a matter of weeks will be sworn into the presidential office – was connected to the Church of Scientology.
Global banks to advise on ST sale
THE STATE will soon select an investment bank to oversee the closely-watched sale of its 49-percent share in telecommunications giant Slovak Telekom (ST). The country’s privatisation agency, the National Property Fund (FNM), addressed 10 investment banks, six of which responded, and the FNM shortlisted three global players: JP Morgan, Citi and UBS, the Sme daily reported on May 7.
When politicians handle history
ANNIVERSARIES of the rise and fall of countries, uprisings, revolutions and the births or deaths of historical figures, have an almost irresistible appeal for politicians who are always ready to turn any celebration or commemoration into their own publicity stunt. Unfortunately, whenever politicians abuse such occasions – which are an opportunity to nurture people’s sense of history and their understanding of historical lessons and messages – they also contribute to people’s ignorance and apathy towards the lessons inherent in that history.
EC economic outlook pleases state officials
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s spring forecast, which projects that Slovakia’s government deficit will remain just below 3 percent and that the country’s economy will gather pace in 2014, led Finance Minister Peter Kažimír to claim that “Slovakia will no longer belong among the European sinners”. But that rosy outlook is being tempered with caution from analysts who insist that fiscal consolidation must continue with debt, not deficits, as the biggest risk.
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- German shoemaker Lowa joins wave of factory closures in Slovakia
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- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
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- What is Pope Francis’s message to the powerful?
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo
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- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
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- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss More articles ›
