JÁN Slota is a problem. Basically, a decent newspaper should really not talk to him. His politics are based on hatred, aggression and primitivism. Nonetheless, Slota is a member of parliament and Prime Minister Robert Fico made him one of the leaders of the ruling coalition. To ignore Slota means to ignore the opinion of someone who makes decisions about our country.
It has been made clear that it is not enough to keep Slota and Vladimír Mečiar, chairman of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, outside the government.
Fico's attempts to pretend that he has them under control and that he keeps them out of the most important positions has failed with every single lie Mečiar cannot suppress, and with every insult Slota yells out before the euphoria of a boor wears off.
It would be misleading to pretend that this is not embarrassing. These politicians influence the atmosphere of the whole society, they set the rules. It is enough to remember how they behaved when they were in power in the 1990s.
We have to talk to Slota, and especially about Slota. Otherwise, his manners and behaviour will spread like a plague. However, it is not enough just to talk. If Prime Minister Fico does not want to be tarred with the same brush as Slota, he should not just harangue him but also take action. And what about the rest of us? Do not vote for him.
Matúš Kostolný
Editor-in-Chief, Sme 14.6.
