Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová at a press conference at the Culture Ministry on March 14, 2024. (source: TASR)
Good evening. Here is theThursday, March 14 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
No explanation, just attacks
On Thursday, in an entrance hall at the Culture Ministry, Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nom.) was supposed to explain why she drafted a bill supposed to turn the public broadcaster RTVS into a medium controlled by the state.
Instead, she criticised RTVS for the lack of objectivity in its reporting and defended disinformation media. Šimkovičová herself regularly appears on a disinformation and pro-Russian channel on Facebook. Joined by SNS party leader Andrej Danko and Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS nom.), they went on to attack journalists, as well as RTVS director Ľuboš Machaj.
When journalists wanted to ask questions, they were allowed to pose only three questions after a citizen (not a journalist) managed to enter the hall and shouted at Danko: “Debil!” (moron). Danko had been talking about external firms allegedly ‘being parasites’ off RTVS. He quickly used the verbal attack as an argument for the cancellation of the public media.
More than 800 RTVS workers have called on the ministry to withdraw the bill. It is being criticised by organisations and institutions from abroad.
Related: The civic sector is addressing an open letter to the European Commission and the European Parliament over the proposed RTVS bill. The activists say that the freedom of press is under threat and that it contravenes EU rules. (TASR)
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
Media: RTVS is not the only channel that has come under pressure. The newsroom of the most popular Slovak private TV channel, Markíza, is also having problems.
Business: Rums are quite popular on the Slovak internet. See what alcohol is sold on the internet the most.
History: A short story about a postcard for Prague Castle.
Bratislava: Ahistorical festival will take place at the weekend. Check out two more free events in the city on March 16.
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FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY
The developers who dominate the Slovak market
The skyline of Bratislava is changing. (source: Courtesy of JTRE)
Developers experienced challenging months, marked by rising interest rates and inflation, as well as hesitant buyers. How have the past months affected the position of individual developers? Explore the ranking of the largest residential developers compiled by The Slovak Spectator, as part of its Largest in Business project.
TOP 10 EVENTS IN BRATISLAVA
St. Martin Cathedral in Bratislava. (source: TASR - Dano Veselský)
A football match against Austria, an Easter concert, but also some parties. Here's our selection of Bratislava events for the next few days.
In other news
If the presidential election had been held in early March, it would have been won by Speaker of Parliament Peter Pellegrini (Hlas) with 56 percent of votes in the run-off round, whereas former foreign minister Ivan Korčok would have ended up second with 44 percent of votes, according to polling conducted by Focus agency for TV Markíza. The first round will be held next weekend. (TASR)
Opposition MP Veronika Remišová submitted a complaint with the general prosecutor over the illegal campaign financing of presidential candidate Peter Pellegrini with taxpayer money on Thursday. Presidential candidate Ivan Korčok is providing the most transparent data on the conduct of his presidential campaign, while Pellegrini is running the least transparent campaign, according to Transparency International Slovakia. (TASR)
Foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) will meet on March 21 in Prague to discuss the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the situation prevailing in the Middle East, according to TASR.
The constitution does not grant many powers to the president of the country, presidential candidate and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko stated in an interview for TASR, adding that the presidential election should be returned to the hands of parliament.
I'm filing a criminal complaint against farmers accusing the Agriculture Ministry of lying and corruption on social media, Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč (Smer) said at a briefing on Thursday, asking them to remove their allegations from the social network and publish an apology. (TASR)
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová during a press conference on March 14, 2024 in the Presidential Palace in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Expect a clear to partly cloudy start to the day. However, heavy clouds will gradually move in from the west. Despite the clouds, temperatures will remain relatively mild, ranging from 12 to 17 degrees Celsius. A light wind will accompany the day's weather. (SHMÚ)
MARCH 15 NAME'S DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Svetlana.
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