Good evening. Here is the Monday, June 10 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Progresívne Slovensko wins EP election
European Parliament Election in Slovakia on Saturday, June 8. (source: TASR)
The leading pro-European party Progresívne Slovensko (PS) headed by former European Parliament deputy chair Michal Šimečka won its second victory in the Slovak European elections.
The party took 27.81 percent of votes, followed by PM Robert Fico’s Smer with 24.76 percent, despite the polls published before the two-day election moratorium on June 5, indicating the latter's potential victory.
In an attempt to win the elections, the party did not shy away from exploiting a shooting incident from mid-May, in which the PM was seriously injured.
PS's election leader and former PM Ľudovít Ódor received the highest number of preferential votes, a total of 294,944. He was followed by Smer's Ľuboš Blaha with 187,020 votes.
Of the 15 seats for Slovak MEPs, PS will have 6, Smer 5, the far-right Republika led by MEP Milan Uhrík 2, and 1 belongs to KDH and Hlas each. Interestingly, Republika is not represented in the Slovak parliament.
The turnout in Slovakia reached 34.4 percent, historically the highest for EP elections in the country. Read the main takeaways here. President Zuzana Čaputová was pleased with the turnout, saying that the outcome demonstrated that the majority of voters in Europe still wish to be represented by parties of the democratic centre. The highest turnout of 44.53 percent was in the Bratislava Region, while the lowest of 28.33 was in the Košice Region. When it comes to municipalities, 90 percent of all voters cast a vote in Potok, Ružomberok district, while only 1.03 percent came to vote in Lomnička, Stará Ľubovňa district.
Related: According to Transparency International Slovensko, only parties Progresívne Slovensko, KDH and SaS carried out a transparent EP election campaign, while Smer and Hlas carried out the least transparent campaign.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
LAST WEEK: What the European elections say about Slovakia.
HEALTH: Slovakia is the only country that has distanced itself from new WHO health regulations to prevent a new pandemic.
RAILWAY: National carrier ZSSK introduces women-only compartments, quiet zones in its cars, among other things.
POLL: Slovaks know little about EU institutions, but their trust is immense.
CULTURE: Shining the Spotlight: Bridging cultures through language with Darina Sedláková.
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FEATURE STORY FOR MONDAY
Slovakia's unique cricket
A male of the Bei-Bienko's Plump Bush-cricket. (source: Ján Svetlík)
The Slovenský Kras mountain range in south-eastern Slovakia is not just one of the country’s most eye-catching locations, it is also home to an animal that lives nowhere else on the planet. Unfortunately, it is also endangered. The Slovak Spectator talked to an expert who studies the species.
EVENT FOR THE WEEK
More than a neighbour
A still from a previous edition of the Hungarian culture festival. (source: TASR)
Between June 10-16, the 10th edition of the Viac ako sused (More Than a neighbour) the Hungarian culture festival will take place in Bratislava. Over several days, you can expect to see a ballet performance, photo exhibition, concerts, as well as a gastronomic festival and craft markets. Find out more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
The Fitch Rating agency affirmed Slovakia's rating as A- with a stable outlook. (TASR)
Dozens of employees and partners of public-service broadcaster RTVS went on a three-hour strike on Monday due to disagreement with the proposed bill on the broadcaster that would put it under government control. "Many demands of the strike committee are identical with the opinions of the RTVS management, especially in the area of the proposed changes, financing the institution and ending attacks on journalists by politicians," reads a statement by RTVS general director Ľuboš Machaj. Several film associations have expressed their support for the demands of RTVS employees. (TASR)
RTVS employees say they will continue with strikes if their demands are not met. The caption reads: Let's not allow media freedom to be taken away. (source: TASR)
Since the system for returning used plastic bottles and cans has been introduced at the beginning of 2022, approximately 2.4 billion have been collected. According to the Association of Cities and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS), this means 92 percent of bottles and cans. The goal is to reach 99 percent, introduce the system to national parks, and increase the awareness of the option among children and foreign visitors. (TASR)
According to Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS nominee), the bill regarding NGOs will not be discussed in the June parliamentary session starting on Tuesday, but after summer break. (Denník N)
Slovakia's April 2024 industrial output increased by 6.3 percent year-on-year, the Statistics Office reported on Monday. Following a significant fall in March, industry returned to the better performance seen since last August. (TASR)
A storm on Sunday evening over Bratislava. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy, occasionally showers and rain expected, especially in the eastern part of the country. Daily temperatures between 17 °C to 24 °C.
JUNE 11 NAME'S DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Jesika
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