Here's what anti-government chant 'podržtaška' means

When Smer started to celebrate victory on election night at the end of September last year, MEP Monika Beňová was asked whether the party would be able to convince Hlas to join it in a coalition government.

"Hlas? Of course!" she answered immediately. However, Hlas leader Peter Pellegrini was not amused by the remark. After meeting with President Zuzana Čaputová on October 3, he uttered a word which has come to define him among his critics.

"I will not be a 'podržtaška'. Nor will [Hlas] serve as a means to power for anyone willing to take the country and do whatever they please," he said.

Literally translated, Pellegrini said he would not 'hold anyone's bag'. According to Sibyla Mislovičová from the Ľudovít Štúr Institute of Linguistics, podržtaška in the sense of a 'bootlicker', or henchman has not been in use long. Its first mention in official linguistic records dates back to 2002 and is thought to be of Czech origin.

It can be used in both masculine and feminine noun gender forms and, notes Mislovičová, can be considered derogatory.

Translator Ivana Krekáňová says that the word does not have a direct English equivalent. The closest, in her opinion, is 'minion'.

Another option might be 'flunky' or 'flunkey', meaning someone who obediently works for someone else and will do whatever they are told, no questions asked. She also cited the words 'dogsbody', 'gofer' and 'underling', but even these do not fully convey the meaning of the Slovak term.

The term 'podržtaška' has recently become a nickname for Pellegrini, because once the coalition was formed, Hlas started to willingly support Prime Minister Robert Fico's decisions, especially in regard to helping former Smer nominees and people close to the party who are facing charges in several important court cases.

Immediately upon appointment, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) suspended top investigators whose work Fico has long questioned.

Podržtaška has been repeatedly chanted by crowds at anti-government protests that have been held regularly across Slovakia since before the end of last year.