Anca Dragu is a journalist with Radio Slovakia International, which is available in Bratislava in English on 98.9 FM at 6:30pm and 8:30pm and at www.rsi.sk. The opinions expressed in this blog are her own.
I remember when last year before local elections, the British political scientist Karen Henderson, who lectures at the Comenius University in Bratislava, explained why it is important that politicians learn to use the term “inhabitants’” instead of “citizens”: the former is inclusive.
I also remember when shortly afterwards, I commented under a post on the official Facebook page of Slovakia's Finance Ministry that the measures they propose should be “for all taxpayers” rather than just for citizens, as the group of those contributing to the state coffers includes residents who are not Slovak citizens too.
And then last Saturday… "I did not come to rule, I came to serve the citizens, the inhabitants, of Slovakia," said Slovakia's newly-sworn-in President Zuzana Čaputová. I almost felt like singing Scorpions’ “Wind of Change” out loud.
I know that for many foreigners, the performance of the Slovak Foreign Police is THE standard by which they judge the attitude towards foreigners in this country.
