THE LEADER of the Slovak National Party (SNS), Ján Slota, verbally abused a policewoman, the Sme daily reported on May 19.
Three weeks earlier, Officer Ľudmila Nováková, while on duty as a guard at parliament’s garages, refused to admit a driver who said he was going to pick up Slota but did not have permission to enter.
Slota then came to the garages himself where, Sme reported, he proceeded to swear at Nováková, using a range of profanities including the c-word.
He asked her to tell him her name, which she refused to do showing him only her police officer’s identification number. After the incident Nováková wrote a report of the incident which she submitted to her superiors.
According to Slovak law, Slota’s alleged behaviour could qualify as an offence against civic cohabitation, punishable by a fine of €33. However, in cases like this MPs are protected by their deputy’s immunity, Sme wrote.
Reacting to news of the incident, Prime Minister Robert Fico said that if the reports were correct Slota had “failed as a man towards a woman”. The speaker of parliament, Pavol Paška also condemned Slota’s behaviour.
An SNS spokesperson declined to comment on the incident, while Rudolf Púčik, an MP for the party, said that the report was merely a continuation of a media ‘witch-hunt’ against Slota, Sme wrote.
