Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, October 9 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Consolidation package sees Smer trailing behind PS in newest poll
The new October 2024 public survey by the NMS Market Research agency is the first one to show how voter sentiments after the consolidation package which includes higher tax was approved. The measures included in the package will see every family in Slovakia pay on average €270 more next year.
According to the results, Smer now has the lowest voter support since the election in September last year, in which it gained almost 23 percent of votes. When compared to the September 2024 survey, Smer lost 3.4 percentage points. NMS sociologist Mikuláš Hanes says that "a year after the elections, the politically turbulent autumn has brought the first major earthquake in the support of political parties in Slovakia", reports Sme daily. This comes even after both PM Robert Fico (Smer) and Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer) tried to make sure that the party would take as little flak as possible from the approved tax increase.
The recent survey also shows the continuing decrease of support for coalition Hlas with 12 percent (12.6 in September) and SNS with 2.9 percent (3.5 in September).
Had the election taken place now, the government coalition in its current form would not have formed even with the support of extremist Republika which last year did not get into the parliament, but has ever since hovered above the 5 percent threshold.
Hlas seems to have a problem with affirming its position of the second most powerful coalition party. It has been unable to propose its candidate for the post of Speaker of Parliament which belongs to it. Even though way below the threshold for quite some time, SNS wanted the post for itself. Moreover, it has recently been attacking Hlas and its ministers, fuelling the tensions among the coalition. However, PM Robert Fico maintains that there is no crisis in the coalition.
Progressive Slovakia (PS) won the survey with 24.4 percent, making for a four percentage point lead on Smer. However, it too would have problems forming a coalition and would need the support of the Slovensko (formerly OĽaNO) movement, which would not get into the parliament as it is a coalition and as such needs more than 7 percent of the votes.
The online survey was carried out between October 2-7 on a sample of 1,000 respondents.
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FEATURE STORY
Going viral for the wrong reasons
Čumil in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
Čumil, a statue better known to some as the "Man at Work", or the "Watcher", an icon of Bratislava’s Old Town, greets passers-by at the intersection of Panská Street and Laurinská Street.
In late August, Čumil , a figure not based on any real person, became the subject of an online shaggy-dog story that has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times— if not more.
EVENT FOR THE COMING DAYS
Dancing in the Dark
The Rainbow Pride festival in Bratislava. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
In just a few days, two years will have passed since the terrorist attack at the Tepláreň LGBTI venue in Bratislava that claimed two lives. How has the community coped with the incident? How do they feel in a country in which they are regularly under attack, both verbally and physically? These are the questions that 13 artists are seeking to answer, as well as trying to find a way to move forward in the Dancing in the Dark exhibition that will be on display on October 10-27 every day except Monday from 14:00 to 19:00. The admission is free.
IN OTHER NEWS
In its latest macroeconomic prognosis, Slovakia's central bank NBS predicts that GDP will grow by 2.5 percent both this and next year, a slightly worse estimate compared to the summer prognosis. Inflation should accelerate temporarily from 3 percent this year to 5 percent next year before returning to lower levels. (TASR)
The Facebook page of the Slovensko (formerly OĽaNO) movement has been blocked. The party had more than 220,000 followers on the platform. According to Slovensko's Marek Šefčík, this move came without any warning. "We are not aware of any violation of any rules. We were surprised by this and are communicating with the administrators in order to resolve the misunderstanding as soon as possible," he said. (SITA)
Education Minister Tomáš Drucker (Hlas) condemned attacks on schools by extremist politicians and disinformation media. This comes after a Trenčín high school planned to hold a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Tepláreň venue in Bratislava two years ago, but was forced to cancel it after coming under attack by a neo-fascist MEP. "It is absolutely unacceptable that such a quality school, or any other school, should be the target of a primitive campaign and intimidation," Drucker stated, adding that what is taught in schools should not be decided by people who deny the Holocaust or for whom the Slovak National Uprising is a black day in history. In response to the cancellation, Trenčín Mayor Richard Rybníček announced on Wednesday that the town is going to hold a commemoration event for Juraj Vankulič and Matúš Horváth on October 11. He added that the school held the event last year, but flew under the radar since it was an internal affair. (TASR)
The Supreme Court does not see the assassination attempt at Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) on May 15 in Handlová as an act of terrorism. Although the court claims that shooter, 71-year old pensioner Juraj Cintula belongs in custody, it does not agree with the legal basis upon which he is being prosecuted for terrorism. The police initially investigated the it as a premeditated murder. Neither the investigators nor the prosecutor's office have so far been able to find evidence that would confirm terrorism. (Aktuality)
On Wednesday, the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation dismissed Juraj Slafkovský’s critical remarks about the federation in the Tuesday interview with The Athletic as "rash comments of a young player".
After consulting with Hlas chair Matúš Šutaj Eštok, PM Robert Fico (Smer) has submitted a proposal to President Peter Pellegrini to appoint Kamil Šaško as the new Health Minister after the party's Zuzana Dolinková handed her resignation to President Peter Pellegrini who did not accepted it, asking her to remain at the post until her successor is known. Šaško served as an Economy Ministry state secretary. (TASR, SITA)
This historic building built in 1922 near the village of Haniska, eastern Slovakia, will become part of the future plant of the Volvo car company. The building is associated with the beginnings of radio broadcasting in Slovakia. Volvo does not plan to demolish it, its future will be decided later. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Cloudy to overcast skies, with rain and drizzle expected occasionally. Level 1 wind warning issued for districts around both the Low Tatras and the High Tatras. Daily temperatures will rise to between 16 °C to 24 °C. (SHMÚ)
OCTOBER 10 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Slavomíra
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