Good evening. Here is theFriday, January 19 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Peter Pellegrini is, finally, a declared candidate for president
Speaker and Hlas party leader Peter Pellegrini chairs a parliamentary session on January 8, 2023. (source: TASR)
Hlas chair Peter Pellegrini has officially joined the race to succeed Zuzana Čaputová as president, announcing his candidacy this afternoon in the State Opera building in Banská Bystrica. The move has been widely discussed since at least the middle of last year, but the formal trigger was his Hlas party leadership's backing for his candidacy, which came on Thursday, January 18.
Speaking on Na Hrane (On the Edge), a show on private broadcaster TV Joj, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) said "Slovakia cannot have a better president than Peter Pellegrini, we're all unanimously convinced of that."
On Friday, former foreign affairs minister Ivan Korčok submitted to parliament a petition signed by 40,000 people supporting his candidacy. In Slovakia, a candidate is required to submit at least 15,000 signatures.
Polls to date have put Pellegrini ahead of the other candidates, but the gap between him and Korčok has recently narrowed. According to a new AKO polling agency survey for TV Joj, Pellegrini would have made it into the two-person second round if the election had taken place in January, with the former gaining 40.6 percent and the latter 37.7 percent. Ex-justice minister Štefan Harabin would have come third in the first round.
This week, SNS chair Andrej Danko also officially announced his candidacy. Last week, he drove his car into a traffic light at a pedestrian crossing in Bratislava and fled the scene (no pedestrians were hurt). According to the TV Joj poll, he would have attracted 1.5 percent of the first-round vote.
The first round of the presidential election will take place on Saturday, March 23. The second round, should it be required, will take place on April 6.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
GOOD NEWS: Students in eastern Slovakia found an unusual letter waiting for them when they returned to school from their Christmas holidays. It was from King of England.
HEALTH CARE: A notorious anti-vaxxer has been appointed to lead an official inquiry into how the pandemic was managed in Slovakia.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Plans to build new wind turbines face another bureaucratic hurdle, which could slow down several nascent projects.
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FEATURE STORY FOR FRIDAY
Why Kofola still uses a 20-year old TV ad
Kofola group co-owner Jannis Samaras. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
Before Christmas, Kofola, a company that produces soft drinks, once again relied on its traditional ad depicting a wild boar and a Christmas tree. The same ad has now been used for 20 years. In reality, however, the company cut back on TV spots last year.
This is not the only significant change in the company's strategy. Kofola recently bought a stake in the Pivovary CZ brewery group and is also investing in apple cider. Learn more in this interview with its co-owner.
EVENTS FOR THE WEEKEND
As ski fever grips the Low Tatras, other activities are also available
Petra Vlhová. (source: TASR)
This weekend, all eyes will be on the Jasná ski resort in the Low Tatras, where the FIS Apline World Cup takes place. The world's top female skiers will be competing, among them Slovak star Petra Vlhová. Even though tickets and parking places are sold out, organisers say it will still be possible to experience the atmosphere in the resort's Fan Zones.
There is fun to be had in other places as well: balls abound around Slovakia at this time of year, kids can make their own masks inspired by butterflies, and more.
IN OTHER NEWS
During the weekend of January 20-21, the police anticipate increased traffic in the Liptov region due to the FIS Alpine World Cup being held at the Jasná ski resort, especially on the D1 highway and around the towns of Liptovský Mikuláš and Ružomberok. Travellers who are not going to the resort are advised to avoid these areas. (TASR)
Had a general election taken place in January, Smer would have won with 22.1 percent of the vote, followed by Progresívne Slovensko with 19.9 and Hlas with 14.3 percent, according to a survey carried out by the AKO polling agency for TV Joj. Other parties that would have made it into parliament include the KDH, the coalition of Slovensko (formerly OĽaNO), Za ľudí and Kresťanská Únia, SaS, the SNS and the far-right Republika party. (TASR)
More than 90,000 people have signed an online petition demanding Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová's (SNS) resignation. The initiators criticise Šimkovičová's "authoritarian practices when leading the ministry, the non-transparency of decision-making processes, and the absence of discussion with the professional public," among other things, adding that she is creating false conflicts and is unable to solve the ministry's problems. According to ministry spokesperson Pavol Čorba, the minister has taken note of the petition and respects the people's opinion. Recently, the ministry attracted a severe backlash for running an anti-LGBT+ poll. (TASR)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will receive Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, January 24. The two will talk about bilateral and European issues during a working dinner in Berlin. (TASR)
According to the Bratislava Regional Prosecutor's Office, it's currently "impossible" to publish camera footage of SNS leader Andrej Danko's celebrated traffic accident last week in Bratislava. Earlier this week Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok promised to publish the footage. (TASR)
WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND
Saturday will be mostly sunny, with daily temperatures of between 0°C and 5°C. Sunday will be similar, with a slight bump in temperatures to between 1°C and 6°C.
A level 1 low temperature warning applies overnight on both days in several districts of northern, central and eastern Slovakia: see this map for more details. (SHMÚ)
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