Good evening. Here is the Monday, November 18 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
PM Fico refuses political blackmail
Smer chair Robert Fico during his speech on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the party's founding. (source: TASR)
On Sunday, the strongest coalition party, Smer, celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding. The celebration was attended by 1,600 people, including Russian Ambassador to Slovakia, Igor Bratchikov, and US Ambassador Gautam Rana.
In his speech, Smer chair and PM Robert Fico addressed several issues, including conflicts within the coalition.
"I have no intention of surrendering to any political blackmail," he said, referring to the current situation in the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS).
In October, far-right MP Rudolf Huliak, leader of the small, Russia-friendly National Coalition party, left the SNS caucus with his two party colleagues and put the coalition under pressure. The three MPs disrupted the October 29 parliamentary session by failing to vote. Only 75 coalition MPs were present ahead of the announced votes, whereas a minimum of 76 was required. Ever since, Huliak has made demands to be part of the official coalition meetings and his party given a ministry, preferably the Environment Ministry. Former president Zuzana Čaputová refused to appoint Huliak, a climate denier, its head.
Moreover, the SNS party has disagreements with Hlas, the third coalition party.
"Let's be realists and prepare for other political development alternatives in Slovakia other than the general election taking place in 2027," Fico said.
According to the PM, it is up to the three coalition leaders whether or not the government lasts until then.
Speaking via a video, former Czech president Miloš Zeman opined that Smer and Hlas should unite and become one party. It was actually Peter Pellegrini who, together with other Smer renegades, separated in 2020 and formed Hlas, which many call Smer 2.
Russia-friendly MEP's communist greeting: In his address to the audience during the party's birthday, Smer vice-chair and Russia-friendly MEP Ľuboš Blaha opened with the now abandoned communist greeting 'Honourable work, comrades.' He chose the day when Slovakia commemorated the 35th anniversary of the fall of communism to use this greeting. The MEP also announced that he had returned from a visit to Moscow on November 16, where he had engaged in "peace negotiations with Russian friends." He expressed gratitude for the Soviet liberation of Slovakia during the Second World War. However, he omitted any mention of the 40 years of oppression that followed.
Related: Speaking on the "O 5 minút 12" political show, President Peter Pellegrini voiced concern that PM Robert Fico does not consider the election of Speaker of Parliament to be a priority. The post has been vacant since the April 2024 presidential election when Pellegrini, former Speaker, was elected. Pellegrini believes the situation sends a bad signal to both Slovak citizens and foreign partners. Regarding the MPs centred around Rudolf Huliak who left the SNS coalition, the president now views the stability and majority of the coalition as more fragile. The head of state also rejected the PM's idea of increasing the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament to 7 percent. "No democratic country around us has that, being one of the highest thresholds even within the European community. I see it as a way of preventing people from accessing democracy, because it would then solely become the domain of big parties," he said.
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FEATURE STORY
Hoping for a world not needing to be reminded of the importance of science
Physicist František Herman during the Eset Science Award ceremony. (source: TASR)
This year, the physicist František Herman won The Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia Under the Age of 35 category of the ESET Science Award. In an interview with The Slovak Spectator, Herman speaks about his dream world, the scientific field he researches, and the model he and his team developed, which is capable of answering some lingering questions.
EVENT FOR FRIDAY
Winter Uprising
Nneka, one of the most popular female singers of the Uprising festival, is back for the winter edition of the event that will take place this Friday, November 22, at the MMC venue in Bratislava. In addition to her fusion of reggae, hip-hop and soul, expect names such as Ed Solo, Kaya Fyah & Jessi G-Shellz, as well as Catching Cairo, who is returning for an encore after this year's summer Uprising. Get your tickets here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Another poll shows that the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) has overtaken Smer with 22.6 percent versus 21.9 percent. Hlas came third with 13.3 percent, followed by the extremist Republika with 8.6 percent. The opposition parties SaS and KDH would make it to parliament with 6.7 and 62 percent, respectively. With just 3.6 percent, the coalition SNS would not make it. The poll was carried out by the Focus polling agency between November 6-13 on a sample of 1,018 people. (360tka.sk)
For the first time, the presence of the Usutu virus was detected in mosquitoes in Slovakia, namely in the districts of Košice, Svidník, Humenné (eastern Slovakia), Dunajská Streda, Levice, Senica, Prievidza (western Slovakia), Nové Zámky, Veľký Krtíš (southern Slovakia). In addition, the West Nile virus was found in the districts of Nové Zámky and Košice. (SAV)
Deputy Speaker of Parliament and SNS chair Andrej Danko officially asked acting Speaker of Parliament Peter Žiga (Hlas) to give him approval for a foreign work trip to Russia. Danko would like to visit the Russian State Duma in January 2025, and he wants to pay for the trip with his own money. According to SNS spokesperson Zuzana Škopcová, Danko has an official invitation from the Duma chair. (TASR)
American band Queens of the Stone Age will perform at next year's edition of the Pohoda festival, which will take place at Trenčín airport on July 10-12. Touted as one of the best live bands ever, they will perform in Slovakia for the first time. (pohodafestival.sk)
The police found almost €55,000 in cash when raiding the home of a police officer who had been caught accepting a €5,000 bribe. The investigation also revealed several instances of corrupt behaviour. He was also asking drivers for bribes in exchange for making traffic violation penalties more lenient. (TASR)
After three years of reconstruction, the Divadlo Aréna theatre in Bratislava once returned to its former venue on the Danube embankment in Petržalka. The building underwent a complex renovation; the goal was to preserve the historical architecture, while incorporating modern technical solutions. (TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Cloudy to overcast skies, foggy. Either rain or drizzle expected in many places. Daily temperatures will rise to between 2 °C to 9 °C. Level 1 and 2 wind warnings issued for districts in the northwestern and northern districts, see map here. (SHMÚ)
NOVEMBER 19 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Alžbeta
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