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SNS leader Danko’s fury
SNS leader Andrej Danko (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko is crying foul over what he sees as an attempt by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party to wipe SNS off the political map, citing the party’s abysmal performance in the latest state-conducted opinion poll.
According to the Infostat survey, SNS would have failed to secure parliamentary representation if the election had been held in February, scraping just 1.5 percent support. The poll was carried out by the Centre for Social Research, which operates under the Statistics Office’s Institute of Informatics and Statistics (Infostat). The Statistics Office itself is headed by Smer nominee Martin Nemky.
Danko now feels betrayed by Smer. In an interview with Slovak business daily Hospodárske Noviny, he accused Smer’s marketing department of orchestrating a political hit job, dismissed the poll as “manipulated”, and called for Nemky’s removal. He also demanded full transparency on the methodology behind the survey.
“The head of the Statistics Office can shove that survey up his arse – you can broadcast that,” Danko fumed. “I’m absolutely furious about what they dared to do, and I will deal with it.”
This is not the first that Danko has criticised Smer, but it is all it is as Danko is unlikely to leave the coalition.
On Tuesday, the Statistics Office rejected any suggestion of political interference in its work or that of its subordinate institutions.
Danko had no issue with Infostat’s inaugural (January) poll, which put SNS at 3.1 percent – still short of the 5 percent threshold needed to enter parliament. In January, private polling agencies reported similar figures for SNS (AKO: 4.1 percent, Focus: 3.7 percent), except for NMS, which pegged the party at 1.5 percent.
The ruling coalition has long distrusted private polling agencies, prompting its decision to resurrect state-run political surveys. Danko himself backed the move a year ago. “We want state-run surveys to be reinstated here, and if someone publishes a survey as public, we want the methodology to be guaranteed. Many surveys are not actually conducted. Various so-called political analysts are just making it up as they go along,” Danko said in March 2024.
Irony: It was under Smer’s first government in May 2009 that the Statistics Office scrapped state-run election polling amid a decline in Smer’s popularity. However, then-head of the office, Ľudmila Benkovičová, maintained at the time that the decision was driven by European Union regulations prohibiting such surveys.
First state-run poll: In February, the opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) slammed the first Infostat poll, released on Valentine’s Day, after it showed the party polling at just 3.2 percent. “Fico used taxpayers’ money to pay for an election poll. And of course, he wouldn’t be himself if he wasn’t manipulating and lying,” said SaS leader Branislav Gröhling, accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of political interference. Gröhling pointed out that SaS had polled between 6.1 and 7 percent in recent surveys by three other agencies, raising suspicions about the credibility of Infostat’s numbers.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR
Fico’s Croatian retreat: Prime Minister Robert Fico has dismissed as “monstrous lies” Croatian media reports claiming he is secretly building a summer home in the exclusive Adriatic enclave of Ražanj.
Shaky signatures: A pro-Russian biker group in Slovakia is pushing to repeal EU sanctions on Russia, but doubts over its claimed 450,000 signatures are raising eyebrows.
Wage struggles: Slovakia’s wages have climbed above pre-pandemic levels, but the country remains among the EU’s lowest earners.
Locked away: Bratislava’s top museums are moving thousands of artefacts into a high-tech storage facility – where the real treasures are kept out of sight.
Honouring women: As International Women’s Day highlights the long fight for gender equality, entrepreneur and activist Eva Staronová channels its spirit into action.
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TRAVEL
Skalica’s tourism playbook
The Baťa Canal in Skalica (source: TASR)
Once a free royal town, Skalica is reinventing itself as a tourist hotspot, blending history with hands-on experiences–from singing in the Jesuit Church to baking traditional trdelník–as local leaders push to keep visitors coming back.
THE COALITION’S BIGGEST FAN
Extremist speaker at minister’s event
Sports and Tourism Minister Rudolf Huliak (l) and charged extremist Daniel Bombic (r) (source: Telegram/Daniel Bombic)
A gathering of supporters of Slovakia’s newly appointed far-right, pro-Russian Sports and Tourism Minister Rudolf Huliak took place on Saturday, March 8–International Women’s Day–in the town of Stupava, just outside Bratislava. The event, held in a local cultural centre, featured a speech from far-right extremist Daniel Bombic. He has been charged with offences including extremism, harassment, and the illegal handling of personal data.
The town of Stupava told Slovak broadcaster Markíza that it had no prior knowledge of the event. The venue was rented by a private individual who initially described the gathering as a party. The booking form later stated it was a “work meeting”, with no mention that it was a political event linked to Huliak’s party, the National Coalition.
Despite being advertised as a public event, journalist Martina Töröková of Markíza–who is from Stupava–was denied entry.
Bombic has been appearing alongside multiple government figures in recent weeks. In February, he was spotted among supporters of the ruling Smer party during a televised debate on TA3, where Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tibor Gašpar were featured. In March, he attended a disciplinary hearing involving Supreme Court judge Juraj Kliment, whom Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly threatened with disciplinary action. Last week, Bombic also made an appearance at a conference hosted at Bratislava’s Primate’s Palace by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, an institution with ties to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s administration. However, organisers removed him after the first panel discussion upon discovering he was not officially registered. Speakers at the event included Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, Smer party official and MEP Erik Kaliňák, and Orbán’s adviser Balázs Orbán.
IN OTHER NEWS
The Catholic Church in Slovakia recorded 11 new reports of sexual abuse by clergy, members of religious orders, and laypeople working in church institutions last year, according to newly released data.
Slovaks spent a record €1.45 billion on gambling last year, marking a 9.6 percent increase compared to 2023, according to newly released data.
Oil deliveries to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline were suspended on Tuesday due to technical issues occurring outside Slovak territory. The Druzhba pipeline, one of the world’s longest oil networks, supplies crude from Russia to Central Europe.
Slovakia’s long-awaited state-backed rental housing scheme has taken a step forward, with the first flats officially handed over to the system on Tuesday. The investor behind the project, the insurance company Kooperativa, delivered around 70 flats in the Ovocné sady development in Bratislava. More than 20 of the newly delivered flats have been earmarked for employees of the University Hospital Bratislava (UNB), Slovakia’s largest medical facility. The first tenants are expected to move in by April.
The United States is expected to impose its first tariffs on European goods as early as Wednesday, despite last-minute efforts by the European Commission to prevent the move. Even a proposal from EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič–offering to increase imports of American liquefied natural gas–failed to sway Washington. According to Šefčovič, Brussels’ attempts at a “constructive dialogue” have been met with stubborn resistance from the Trump administration.
Slovakia’s cement industry is making strides in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, with cement plants across the country replacing 75 percent of their heat energy with alternative fuels derived from waste. In 2024 alone, 374,000 tonnes of such fuels were used, significantly cutting coal consumption and reducing carbon emissions, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Slovak Republic (ZVC).
For 2024, exports decreased by 1.7 percent year-on-year to €106.6 billion and imports decreased by 0.6 percent to €103.3 billion. The foreign trade balance was in surplus in the amount of €3.3 billion, in 2023 the foreign trade balance ended with a surplus of €4.5 billion. In January 2025, the foreign trade balance ended with a deficit of almost €394 million, representing a year-on-year deterioration by more than €900 million. This unfavourable result was due to a significant growth in imports influenced by several commodities, while exports increased only slightly.
(source: Statistics Office)
The long-awaited restoration of Krásna Hôrka Castle, a mediaeval fortress in eastern Slovakia devastated by a massive fire 13 years ago, has hit yet another setback. The reopening date remains uncertain, with officials citing unfinished approvals for newly reconstructed roofs as one of the key obstacles.
WEDNESDAY WEATHER BRIEFING: A mostly cloudy to overcast day, with occasional breaks in the cloud cover. Showers or rain expected in some areas, particularly overnight, with isolated thunderstorms possible. Mild temperatures throughout the day. Daytime highs will reach between 12°C and 20°C. (SHMÚ)
The Starina Reservoir, a key source of drinking water, in Stakčín on March 9, 2025. (source: TASR - Veronika Mihaliková)
HAPPY NAME DAY: March 12 is a special day for Gregor, so if you know one, don’t forget to send your warmest wishes. Všetko najlepšie!
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