Good evening. Here is the Monday, June 12 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
It’s campaigning time
Illustrative image. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
Last Friday, Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollár formally announced the election date for September 30, 2023. The announcement itself has a number of practical implications.
Politicians who aspire to lead the country will soon start making the rounds of summer festivals, swimming pools, and outdoor halušky- and goulash-cooking competitions.
They have been bracing for the heat of a political summer since learning that, for the first time in 20 years, Slovakia’s parliamentary elections will take place in September, writes Michaela Terenzani in her Last Week in Slovakia summary.
Read more about the coming elections:
Will Russia try to influence the upcoming election? Long story short: it already has.
Slovakia’s new technocratic PM and ‘cabinet of experts’ face off against populists.
Smer reaches unshakeable position in the latest poll.
Slovakia’s pro-Western feelings are going south.
Elections are coming, after a long parliamentary free-for-all.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
REAL ESTATE: Developer's bankruptcy reveals a new high rise that was supposed to join the Bratislava skyline.
HISTORY: Masaryk preserved this castle 100 years ago. Now it's time for another makeover. Hrušov Castle is returning to life again.
BUSINESS: Competition heats up in grocery market. Discount chains eye Slovak debut.
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FEATURE STORY FOR MONDAY
Supporting Ukraine as long as it takes
Germany's Minister of State for Europe and Climate Anna Lührmann. (source: Dominik Butzmann)
"In hindsight it has become obvious that German politicians have miscalculated the issue of Russia. This is why we are making sure now that we don't repeat that kind of situation," says Germany's Minister of State for Europe and Climate Anna Lührmann in an interview.
If you take the climate targets and the ambitions of the EU Green Deal into account, it is clear that nuclear power won't really help, she also says.
PODCAST FOR MONDAY
Three foreigners on the sometimes difficult decision to leave Slovakia
(source: Sme)
A new episode of the Na Slovensku Aj Po Anglicky podcast is out.
This time, we are addressing the deceptively simple question: should I stay or should I go? For most of these migrants, integration into Slovak society is their goal. However, successful integration is neither guaranteed nor complete.
In fact, many of these transplants feel rejected by Slovak society, no matter how hard they try.
In other news
The technocratic government approved its manifesto submitted by Premier Ľudovít Ódor. The government's aim is to ensure the proper running of the state until the snap election, a responsible budget and a pro-European and pro-western foreign policy. The preparation and implementation of measures to help low-income groups facing high inflation is crucial as well. The government also wants to ensure the efficient use of EU funds and aims to retain and attract talented people in Slovakia.
The number of visitors to accommodation facilities in Slovakia grew almost one third year-on-year and reached 400,000 in April 2023, the Statistics Office reported on Monday.
Hungary will protect Slovakia's airspace together with Poland and the Czech Republic. A declaration was signed during the Visegrad Four meeting on Monday at Štrbské Pleso, Vysoké Tatry. Slovakia can count on using the capacities and aircraft of all three countries until December 31, 2024. The country is waiting for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets, with the first four to arrive next year.
More than 73 percent of people in Slovakia trust the Slovak Academy of Sciences, making it the most trusted public institution in the country, according to a new survey carried out by the Focus polling agency. Slovak universities came in close second. The least trusted institution is the parliament with a little over 20 percent.
The reconstructed old water mill in the village of Kostoľany nad Hornádom, near Košice. A tourist novelty, the mill will present art and culture and show how grain was processed and bread produced. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY:
Level 1 ground frost warning applies for north Slovakia and eastern parts of the Banská Bystrica Region. Throughout the day clear to partially cloudy skies, occasional rain expected. Daily temperatures between 19 °C to 24 °C. (SHMÚ)
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