Interim Slovak PM Eduard Heger announces his new party, Demokrati, on March 7, 2023. (source: TASR - Pavol Zachar)
Good evening. Here is the Tuesday, March 7 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
At night and on Facebook, Heger leaves OĽaNO
Interim PM Eduard Heger. (source: TASR)
Interim Slovak PM Eduard Heger announced on late Monday night that he was leaving the ruling OĽaNO party. He did so in a very Matovič way: via Facebook.
On Tuesday, Heger revealed that his party is called Demokrati, or Democrats, and that several ministers have joined the party. It is not a new party.
While some observers are surprised by his decision to join a small party, others say Demokrati could win some parliamentary seats if other democratic parties join Heger's project.
Related: Former PM Mikuláš Dzurinda has not given up on his ambition to create a more European Slovakia, as Michaela Terenzani explains in her weekly column.
MORE NEWS FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR
Business: EV charging stations will be produced in Martin by a US firm.
Music: Experts cannot agree on whether Mozart performed in Bratislava.
Travel: Trenčín plans to turn an old bridge into an "Eiffel Tower".
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PODCAST FOR TUESDAY
Some doctors draw pictures, others frustrated when talking to foreigners in Slovakia
Foreigners share their experience with Slovak health care. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
American Jeremy Hill is talking about foreigners' experiences with obtaining health insurance, visiting doctors, and how to improve the health care system in Slovakia.
Listen to his Na Slovensku Aj Po Anglicky podcast episode.
SONG OF THE DAY
Piargy
Since its release last September, Ivo Trajkov's Slovak film "The Ballad of Piargy" has won 56 awards and impressed juries at festivals in Brussels, Paris, London, Rome, New York, Milan, Hollywood, Amsterdam, Florence, and beyond.
Listen to "Piargy", the title track to this successful Slovak film based on a story written by Slovak novelist František Švantner.
The song is sung by Veronika Rabada.
In a few lines:
Slovakia's GDP stood at 1.7 percent in 2022, the Statistics Office said on March 7. It increased by 1.1 percent in Q4/2022. Click on the picture to read more. (source: Statistics Office)
Women in Slovakia earn an average of 25 percent less than men. While men's gross earnings reach an average of €1,896, women's average earnings stand at €1,407, an analysis by the Platy.sk website shows.
Senior posts in companies in Slovakia are overwhelmingly held by men. The situation has improved marginally over the past five years, a study by the Dun & Bradstreet firm shows.
The Smer-Slovak Social Democracy party, led by ex-PM Robert Fico, has filed three criminal complaints with the Prosecutor General's Office against commentators Marián Leško, Michal Havran, and Tomáš Hudák.
The Dutch royal couple arrived in Slovakia on March 7, 2023. From left: Bratislava mayor Matúš Vallo, Queen Máxima, King Willem-Alexander, President Zuzana Čaputová, president's partner Juraj Rizman, University Library Director Silvia Stasselová. Click on the photo to read more about the couple's programme in Slovakia. (source: TASR - Jakub Kotian)
WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY: Overcast weather. The highest daytime temperature will range from 6°C to 14°C. Light wind. Scattered showers in the evening. (SHMÚ)
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