News digest: Most MPs on a day strike in debate chamber

Inflation keeps rising. Seven tips on what to see during the White Night festival.

(Source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)

Good evening. The Wednesday, September 14 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes.


No time for fun, Minister Matovič says

The first parliamentary session after the summer was a big test for Eduard Heger's minority government, which turned out well for the opposition.

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Speaker Boris Kollár failed to open the session twice, not bothering with a third attempt. Most opposition MPs decided to take their cards out of the devices that check their attendance. Hence, parliament lacked the 76 MPs to open the session.

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Finance Minister Igor Matovič, the reason behind the coalition crisis for a few months, has said that there is no time for fun and a strike. The PM himself was surprised by the fiasco in parliament.

The SaS party, which left the coalition government and did not provide its votes to open the session today to see who will support Heger's cabinet in parliament, has pledged to open next week's session.

Finance minister: The SaS party will prepare a proposal for a no-confidence vote against Minister Matovič. The Hlas party is willing to support it if SaS promises not to rejoin the government.


More stories from The Slovak Spectator website

  • Stamp: The state-owned postal service Slovenská Pošta has released a stamp named "Solidarity with Ukraine".

  • Education: Parents are calling on the government to prevent schools from closing due to rising energy costs. PM Eduard Heger promised on September 14 that schools will not close, nor will children sit in cold classrooms.

  • Banks: From next year, the national bank will change mortgage rules for over 40s to keep them from retiring with too much mortgage debt.

  • Festival: Bratislava will host the White Night festival of lights over the weekend. Here are 7 installations that shouldn't be missed.


FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY

Hungary's 'Maria Callas' came from Bratislava

One of the greatest Hungarian opera singers, Erzsébet Házy, had one big dream - to be as great as the world-famous soprano Maria Callas. She was talented but she lived in communist Hungary.

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In other news:

  • Ministers' salaries will be frozen due to Slovakia's high deficit. In April 2022, Eurostat published that the ratio of public administration debt to GDP in 2021 reached 63.1 percent in Slovakia. Hence, a debt brake has entered into force.

  • From September 15, the Vyšné Nemecké border crossing will be used by cars and buses only. Pedestrians can use two other crossings, Ubľa or Veľké Slemence.

  • The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found the serious violation of the rights of an underage Roma girl, who suffered serious injuries in 2017 after falling from a window during her detention at a police station.

  • The Constitutional Court has received President Čaputová's request to rule on the constitutionality of one of two proposed referendum questions. The court will decide on the matter by mid-November.


If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.

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