Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, January 29 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in a few minutes.
Chances of snap election increasing
The building of the Slovak parliament. (source: TASR)
In December, Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the prognosis for snap elections to occur in 2025 is zero.
However, according to a Pavol Boško, head of the Tipsport SK bookmaker and expert in social and political beeting, the turbulent situation on the Slovak political scene has increased the probability to 50 percent, reports the SITA newswire.
"The disputes in the coalition are large and the majority in the National Council of the Slovak Republic is uncertain. Moreover, Prime Minister Robert Fico has started talking about threats to the state," says Boško.
However, snap elections would do the most damage to the current government, he opines, as they show that the former government failed in its tasks. "This could help the opposition, but taking into account its fragmentation, it cannot be said that the election result will bring major changes," noted Boško.
According to the head of bookmakers, the popularity of political betting among bettors is growing.
PM Fico first made a fleeting reference at the Smer party congress in November 2024.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
OPINION: Pulling an old trick, even PM Fico makes a play for snap elections.
FIRST AND POSSIBLY NOT LAST: A venomous Black Widow specimen detected in Slovakia for the first time in history.
PODCAST: Milan "Docent" Sedliak is a Slovak scientist, nutrition expert, and stand-up comedian who excels at blending science and humour.
SLOVAK ROOTS: In the newest instalment of the newsletter, you'll learn how a Slovak emigrant's invention was instrumental to amplifying the sound of guitars, meet an American whose Slovak-born grandmother asked him to do something good for her home country, and explore Orava.
TRAVEL: An old railway bridge in Trenčín to be transformed into a promenade.
If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.
FEATURE STORY
The cheekiest monkey
Robbie Williams. (source: TASR)
Robbie Williams' biopic The Better Man is now in cinemas. In it, he is portrayed as a CGI monkey with his own voice. "I've felt like a monkey my whole life, the most cheekiest one. All it took was saying it in front of my friend and director, and he went with it," the singer says in an interview with the Sme daily.
EVENT FOR THE COMING DAYS
Japanese film festival
The Kino Mladosť cinema in Bratislava. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
From January 30 to February 2, the Kino Mladosť cinema in Bratislava's city centre will be holding a film festival focusing on Japanese films. Over the course of four days, four movies are going to be screened at 19:30. Each will be in Japanese and with both Slovak and English caption. Admission is free. Find out more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
After spending a night in a pre-trial detention cell upon extradition from the UK, extremist Daniel Bombic has been released. The decision of the Specialised Criminal Court is not final as the prosecutor has filed a complaint against it. The court will make a decision by February 6. According to the judge, there are grounds for criminal prosecution, but not for detention and they are not afraid that he would escape or hide to avoid criminal prosecution, or that he would continue his criminal activities. Bombic, known for his inflammatory rhetoric and online harassment campaigns, is wanted on three international arrest warrants. (SME)
The governing coalition has managed to secure a narrow majority in the parliament ahead of the upcoming session slated to start on February 4. One of the rebelling Hlas MPs, Roman Malatinec, said he will help the coalition with passing healthcare related bills that should avert the threat of doctors filing their resignations once again. The last standoff between them and the government, and as such the threat of a critical gap in hospital care, ended just a few days before Christmas. In addition, former SNS MPs centred around Rudolf Huliak will also support the government in the upcoming session. (SME)
The Goral community which lives mainly in northern Slovakia around the Polish border will become the 15th officially recognised ethnic minority in Slovakia. The decision made by the government at its away-from-home session in the village of Červený Kláštor, northern Slovakia. The community, numbering in 70,000 people, welcomed the decision, claiming that it will enable them to preserve their traditions and obtain money from the state budget for its activities and thus further develop its culture. Gorals applied for inclusion in the list of ethnic minorities back in 2023. (TASR)
A Goral ornament on the blouse of the village of Ždiar Mayor Pavol Bekeš. (source: TASR)
In relation to a masked neo-Nazi group in Bratislava, the police have launched criminal prosecution over several crimes of extremism as the group is believed to be carrying out violent attacks in the Slovak capital. (TASR)
The Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia took objection to statements by some Slovak politicians who suggest the crippling cyber-attack against the Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Land Registry (UGKK) in early January originated from Ukraine, saying that the country too faced a similar cyber-attack last December but it was conducted by Russia. The embassy added that activities of many cyber criminals who specialise in ransomware attacks on Western countries are coordinated and supported by Russian secret services. Since there is not evidence yet as to who is the perpetrator, any statements attempting to incriminate Ukraine are unfounded and completely unacceptable. In the wake of the attack on UGKK, the services of the Land Registry department were for many days. (SITA)
State-run health-insurer VšZP says that its e-Recept and mobile app services are fully operational. Yesterday afternoon, due to a threat of a potential cyber-attack, the services were made inaccessible in order to protect the clients' data. The insurer says that all data are secure and protected. (VšZP)
Conec Slovakia, a subsidiary of the German company Conec - Elektronische Bauelemente, plans to double the production of connectors at its plant in the town of Giraltovce, eastern Slovakia. By the end of 2028, 267 new jobs should be added to the existing 256. The company will receive investment aid of more than €1.2 million in the form of income tax relief. (TASR)
The Rímsky Vodopád waterfall turned icefall in the English Park of the Andráši family near the Betliar mansion, southeastern Slovakia. The waterfall was built to look like a ruin of an antique Roman aqueduct. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Partly cloudy, locally a fog may appear, in exceptional cases even drizzle. Daily temperatures up to 15 °C. d a few sentences, including weather warnings (SHMÚ)
JANUARY 30 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Ema
Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram(@slovakspectator).
