Dušan Dědeček runs from journalists in front of the courthouse. The judge decided he would be prosecuted at large. (source: Sme - Marko Erd)
Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. A deadly car crash caused by a drunk driver exposes a widespread lack of trust in the judiciary. Matovič survives a no-confidence vote but faces criticism from international press groups. State officials condemn Russian airstrikes against civilian targets in Ukraine. A health care crisis unfolds in Slovakia.
A lack of trust in the judiciary, exposed
Slovakia was coping with a national trauma last week, after a drunk man got behind the wheel of his car (with his adult son sitting next to him) and proceeded to career through central Bratislava, massively exceeding the speed limit, before crashing into a crowd of pedestrians waiting at one of the capital’s busiest bus stops, killing five people.
After the initial wave of revulsion and anger at the carnage, at the driver’s selfishness and recklessness, and in despair at Slovakia’s ongoing and apparently irresolvable collective alcohol problem, popular outrage was renewed by seeing the culprit walk free from a courthouse on Thursday evening.
