Student Simon Omaník refuses to shake hands with President Peter Pellegrini. (source: Youtube)
A 19-year-old high school student, Simon Omaník, set off a flurry of debate on social media after refusing to shake the hand of Slovak President Peter Pellegrini during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Monday, January 13. Omaník, who was being honoured for his success in an international mathematics competition, attended the event with a ribbon in Ukrainian colours pinned to his chest.
Speaking to Denník N, Omaník explained his gesture: “I have personal and political issues with President Pellegrini. In my opinion, he entered the palace through fraud and lies to the people. Beyond the evergreen populist promises of cheap food and gas, which populists recycle every election, he accused his opponent [former diplomat Ivan Korčok] of wanting to drag us into war in Ukraine.”
While Omaník has received support from some quarters, his actions have also drawn criticism. Controversial YouTuber Martin Daňo has taken his outrage a step further, urging his followers on social media to gather personal information about Omaník, including details about his family, ambitions, and motives. Daňo, who faces multiple charges including defamation and misuse of personal data, has been accused of crossing ethical boundaries.
Government officials, including Education Minister Tomáš Drucker, a member of Pellegrini’s Hlas party, have condemned Omaník’s behaviour. “Regardless of our feelings or opinions, we should be able to shake hands and show mutual respect, especially to the head of state,” Drucker said.
President Pellegrini, speaking from an official visit to Italy, maintained his composure on Tuesday, stating, “I was raised to shake hands with everyone in my political career,” but added that he respects the student’s decision.
The controversy recalls a similar incident from 2009, after a televised presidential debate, when a 20-year-old student refused to shake Iveta Radičová’s hand, citing disagreement with her policies.
“Unbelievable,” Radičová, Slovakia’s former prime minister, commented back then.
In Slovak political history, even the fiercest rivals have often managed to put their differences aside with a handshake. In 1998, President Michal Kováč accepted the hand of then-Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, despite considering him responsible for the kidnapping of his son. Two decades later, in 2018, Prime Minister Robert Fico shook hands with President Andrej Kiska during his resignation following the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak, even though Fico had openly viewed Kiska as an adversary.
Yet not every moment in history has been marked by reconciliation. In 1969, Czechoslovak hockey players famously refused to shake hands with their Soviet counterparts after defeating them at the World Championships in Sweden. This act of defiance was a direct response to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia the previous year, a moment etched in the collective memory of the nation. Captain Jozef Golonka, an exception among his teammates, extended his hand to avoid the team being fined.
Former education minister Juraj Draxler suggested that the focus should shift from Omaník’s gesture to broader issues. “Our talented young mathematicians, chemists, physicists, and roboticists excel internationally despite, not because of, state support. That’s the real conversation we should be having,” Draxler argued.
Prime Minister Robert Fico holds a different opinion. He has criticised President Pellegrini for what he described as a misstep in supporting a student’s decision. “There’s nothing to respect here,” Fico said, explaining how he would have handled the situation differently.
“First, I’d ask [the student] if he ever had a proper bedroom. Second, what his parents taught him. And third, I’d take his award away and send him where he belongs in front of all the media,” Fico said, accusing “anti-Slovak” outlets of applauding the student. Fico suggested that the student would deserve a few slaps.
Fico faced backlash in 2023 for targeting a law student who criticised the dissolution of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which handled corruption and serious crime cases. At the time, Fico remarked, “As a law student, I was as wise as Solomon’s trousers (= very wise, cunning). But I knew my place.”
