Smer MP Ľubomír Vážny (l) and Smer politician Peter Pellegrini in 2018. (source: Facebook - Peter Pellegrini)
Where and how carp will be sold before Christmas is no longer just up to traders, but also politicians. What is already known is where customers will not be able to get live carp. Elsewhere, sales have already begun.
The long-established method of selling carp in barrels outside grocery stores changed last year. The “Carp Hell” issue divided people and politicians in much the same way as the recent debate over relaxing the hunting regulations for bears.
As early as November of the previous year, the Slovak Fishing Union showed its alliance with then-leader of the coalition party Hlas, Peter Pellegrini, who was also the Speaker of Parliament at the time.
Pellegrini attended a fish harvest near Číčov, close to Komárno, in southern Slovakia, to support the sale of carp. Fishermen formally inducted him into their ranks. This event was one of the early signs of Pellegrini’s intentions to run for president.
“I believe that, gradually, we will increase the tradition of incorporating delicious Slovak fish into our diets. And not just during the holidays,” said Pellegrini, now the Slovak president. He claimed that domestic freshwater fish are certainly better than imported marine fish, which are often full of chemicals.
