The Slovak Parliament is Slovak no more, Slovak National Party (SNS) chair Ján Slota declared to an audience of sympathisers on Wednesday, March 30. He subsequently spat at the parliament building and yelled "phooey".
MPs were at the time discussing an amendment to the Act on Use of Minority Languages drafted by Deputy Prime Minister for Minorities Rudolf Chmel (Most-Híd) that reduces the population threshold for use of a minority language for official communication in any given municipality from 20 to 15 percent. Slota lambasted the legislation.
In reaction, Parliamentary Speaker Richard Sulík (Freedom and Solidarity (SaS)) said that such behaviour is typical of Slota. "Maybe it would be better if he attended parliamentary discussions more often, rather than standing outside and shouting," Sulík said, as reported by the TASR newswire. "He should be grateful that he has the chance to take part in the legislative process ... spitting is something anyone can do."
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
