News digest: Culture minister feels bullied, targets national theatre
Slovakia will kick off the Ice Hockey World Championship in Czechia on Friday afternoon.
Good evening. Here is the Thursday, May 9 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Actor to get told off by minister over alleged line
Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (l), actor Ľuboš Kostelný (c), Slovak National Theatre Director Matej Drlička. (Source: TASR)She was not there, but Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nom.) was told that actor Ľuboš Kostelný had reportedly yelled “I hate Martina Simkovicu” during a performance at the national theatre.
In a May 6 interview with Infovojna, a disinformation channel, she also noted that the actor portrays a gay man in the play, and she is going to find out if his alleged line is indeed part of the dialogues of the play. The minister, who cannot be described as an ally of LGBT+, declined to attend the premiere of the play earlier this year.
“I will ask the director and this particular actor, since he is paid with state money because he is employed in a state institution and plays there, whether this is in line with democracy,” the minister said.
Šimkovičová, who herself runs a pro-Russian and disinformation TV channel on social media, described Kostelný’s alleged claim as political activism and bullying.
The actor declined to comment, the theatre has said that is not aware of any incident concerning the minister. However, several actors from the national theatre have called on the minister to leave the post due to the way she has been running the ministry.
Related: “Actors are not your subordinates and you cannot summon them for their acting. You may not have noticed, but for 35 years we have not lived under a regime that controlled and banned artistic performances that did not please the communist leadership of the state,” ex-prime minister Ľudovít Ódor reminded Šimkovičová on Facebook.
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FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY
At Slavín memorial, Bratislava photographer feels like in Johannesburg
Photographer Andrej Ďuríček. (Source: SME - Kristína Kúdelová)In an interview with the Sme daily, photographer and journalist Andrej Ďuríček talks about his hometown, Bratislava. What bothers him about the city, if there are any impressive things to see, but also if Bratislava is beautiful are among the questions he is confronted with.
BRATISLAVA EVENTS
3 things to do in Bratislava for free
Yoga. (Source: Pixabay)If you are an early bird, you can try a morning yoga session in the city centre of Bratislava. It is suitable for beginners, it is free, and it is conducted in English. If this is not something you would like, we have two more suggestions for you.
IN OTHER NEWS
A special parliamentary session on Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas) began on Thursday. The opposition has blamed the minister for not addressing the most urgent matters in health care, for favouring financial groups over others, and for not standing up against the spreaders of disinformation. Before midnight, the minister finally spoke out in the debating chamber, calling the reasons for her removal “absurd.” A no-confidence vote should take place on Tuesday.
The opposition SaS party claims that PM Robert Fico (Smer) transferred €20,000 from his PM’s reserve to the Association of Slovak Writers. SNS MP Roman Michelko is a member of the association’s board. It also publishes a pro-SNS magazine about literature, Literárny Týždenník (Literature Weekly), which is considered to be of low quality. SaS has accused Fico of attempting to purchase the loyalty of the SNS party.
Slovakia will not support the current version of the new pandemic agreement or the proposal to amend the International Health Regulations, said the representative of the Slovak government for the review of the process of managing and managing resources during the Covid-19 pandemic and MP Peter Kotlár (SNS). The lawmaker, a notorious anti-vaxxer and hoaxer, participated in the negotiations on the treaty in Geneva, Switzerland. Kotlár is not the person that will decide on the agreement, said the health minister.
Several weeks before the European elections, Smer discovered a 15-year-old article written by the opposition leader Michal Šimečka (PS) and published in the CEU Political Science Journal. A text about how activists in Ukraine and Georgia in the 2000s were inspired by Serbia and Slovakia is interpreted by Smer MPs as a manual for revolution, which it is not. (Denník N)
Europe Day in the Old Market Hall in Bratislava on May 9, 2024. (Source: TASR - Pavol Zachar)Waste from nine European countries (Austria, Belarus, Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia and Italy) was imported to Slovakia last year. Most waste came from Italy. The Environment Ministry authorised the import of 624,780 tons of waste. Most waste is used as fuel. (TASR)
The March numbers of foreign trade disappointed analysts. The volume of the active balance of foreign trade was €577.4 million. EUR. In the year-on-year comparison, according to the Statistics Office, it fell by €119.4 million. Almost 80 percent of exports went to EU member states. The total volume of exports to the EU decreased by 12.9 percent year-on-year. Imports decreased year-on-year by 16.3 percent.
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Clear skies on Friday. The highest daytime temperature will rise to 24°C. Fog and frost are expected in the morning in some places. (SHMÚ)
MAY 10 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Viktória.
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