Good evening. Here is the Monday, May 6 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Ivan Korčok's still unknown future
Diplomat Ivan Korčok. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
Unsuccessful presidential candidate Ivan Korčok has yet to announce his future plans in politics. At the moment, he is musing whether to enter party politics.
"I will talk more about my future after the EP elections," he said.
But according to a new survey carried out by the Focus polling agency for private TV Markíza, up to 53 percent of Slovaks are of the opinion that he should not. A fifth of people say yes to him joining a party, and 15 percent think that he should establish his own party. The rest does not know.
So far, Korčok's actions suggest that he would like to remain politically active. Last week he announced a press conference, urging people to vote in the upcoming June European Parliament elections, recommending the Progresívne Slovensko (PS), KDH, SaS and non-parliament Demokrati parties. These, in his opinion, are parties that know where Slovakia belongs.
Approximately 80 percent of both SaS and PS voters support Korčok in joining party politics, as well as 73 percent of the Slovensko movement (formerly OĽaNO). Smer and Hlas voters are strongly against Korčok joining party politics.
According to the survey, approximately 60 percent of people also think that Korčok should not try to unite the opposition parties and lead them.
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FEATURE STORY FOR MONDAY
Difficult life for trees in Bratislava
Štefánikova Street in the direction of the Main Railway Station. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
In recent years, the Bratislava climate has been resembling the climate in the Mediterranean, Australia and the US west coast more and more, making it unsuitable for oak, beech, birch or spruce, i.e. species typical for the Carpathians.
Some staple species of maple, chestnut that did not have problems a few years ago, are now unable to take root.
EVENT FOR TOMORROW
The tiny edition of Pohoda
The RTVS radio building (source: SME)
On Tuesday, a small scale edition of the Pohoda festival called Pohoda Deň (day) will take place throughout the day just a few weeks ahead of the main event. Not only will listeners be able to tune in to Rádio FM and listen to the programme, they can also witness two concerts in the Slovak Radio studios. Admission is free. For more information and the performing musicians, click here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Speaking on private TV Markíza's politics show Na Telo on Sunday, President Zuzana Čaputová said that she doesn't regret not re-running for the post. In addition, she doesn't intend to engage in party politics. "I'll try to be useful in the public space, not in politics," she said, adding that she wants to be active in areas where she has some kind of expertise. The president will also visit Ukraine before her tenure ends and meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the PM and Speaker of Parliament. (TASR)
According to Foreign Affairs Ministry, Slovakia will send its chargé d'affaires to Tuesday's inauguration of re-elected Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. (TASR)
At the Saturday party congress, Michal Šimecka was re-elected chairman of Progresívne Slovensko (PS). He had no rival and obtained votes from 155 of the 161 delegates present. In addition, Simona Petrík, Zora Jaurová, Ivan Štefunko, Michal Truban and Tomáš Valášek were elected vice-chairs. According to the PS leader, the party's immediate goal is to win the European Parliament, grow in regions, and win elections in the future. (TASR)
On Monday morning, a bear was spotted running through the village of Očová, central Slovakia. A dash cam video that appeared on social media showed the animal running in front of a car for over 90 seconds. (TV Noviny)
The Várdomb reservoir in the village of Bernolákovo near Bratislava recently won the 2023 Fénix prize - Cultural Memorial of the Year in the complex restoration category. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Cloudy to overcast skies, in many places showers and rain, occasionally storms expected. Daily temperatures will rise to between 13 °C to 20 °C. With the exception of the eastern Slovakia, level 1 storm warning applies to the remaining regions. (SHMÚ)
MAY 7 NAME'S DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Monika
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