News digest: Who might the culture minister fire next?
PM Fico posted another video, accusing the opposition and the media of seeking another shooting attack on a government official—an argument frequently employed by government officials.
Hello. Here is the Thursday, August 8 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Minister moves back to Slovakia, blames journalists
Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová and her right-hand man Lukáš Machala during a press briefing at the Culture Ministry in Bratislava on August 8, 2024. (Source: TASR - Pavol Zachar)On Thursday, Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nom.) and her right-hand man, pro-Putin disinformation figure Lukáš Machala, sought to clarify the dismissals of two directors of national cultural institutions, Alexandra Kusá and Matej Drlička.
Their removal sparked a petition calling for the minister’s resignation, which has garnered over 155,000 signatures.
While the pair accused former Slovak National Theatre director Drlička of lying and being a political activist, they reiterated claims of a conflict of interest against former Slovak National Gallery director Alexandra Kusá. This relates to the successful completion of the Slovak National Gallery’s reconstruction, awarded to her father’s architectural studio in 2005, when Kusá was merely a curator. She later continued the reconstruction project as director. Interestingly, this conflict was not an issue for previous culture ministers who looked into the issue.
No art, no Slovak flag
“When you walk into the national gallery, you don’t see the Slovak flag, and worse, you don’t see any art,” Minister Šimkovičová criticised Kusá during a press conference on Thursday, questioning how the gallery could charge admission for what she described as “nothing”.
Reports indicate that Šimkovičová visited the gallery only once, during its phased reopening after the renovation. Today, the gallery is filled with paintings and sculptures.
Although Kusá had announced free admission until Sunday, this decision was overturned by her successor on Thursday upon assuming office.
From home to home
The minister also disclosed to the media that she no longer resides in the Austrian village of Kittsee, but in Slovakia.
“I want to warn those of you planning a cycling trip from Bratislava to Kittsee that it’s your own hostile politics, and you, some of the journalists sitting here, that drove me out of my home, forcing me to find a new one here in Slovakia,” Šimkovičová said. “I won’t tell you my new address.”
On Thursday evening, activists organised a bike ride from Bratislava to Kittsee to protest against Šimkovičová, Machala, and the dismissal of the directors of two national institutions.
“Battle of values”
Machala stated that the “battle” the ministry is waging is about shaping the future of Slovak culture, which he believes should be rooted in traditional family values, specifically a man and a woman. He described multiculturalism as a force that is destroying Europe.
“We will protect our traditional values and return to normality. We won’t support anything that deviates from the norm,” Machala said, adding that those who don’t align with the ministry’s vision might lose their jobs.
Who might be next?
On Telegram, the minister hinted at who might follow Kusá and Drlička: Maroš Schmidt, Director of the Slovak Design Centre; Branislav Panis, Director of the Slovak National Museum; Pavel Sibyla, Director of the Slovak Literary Centre; and Robert Jindra, Chief Conductor of the State Philharmonic in Košice. All had protested the dismissals of Kusá and Drlička through the official websites of their institutions. The minister accused them of using these platforms for spreading propaganda.
“Political commentary on the decisions of your supervising authority and the misuse of official institutional websites for personal political opinions could be grounds for dismissal,” Šimkovičová wrote on social media.
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SLOVAK MATTERS
Robíte prehliadky aj v angličtine?
Beckov Castle. (Source: TASR)There is a claim, in fact, that Slovakia has more castles, including ruins, per capita than any other country. Unfortunately though, most of the castles provide only Slovak-language tours. Conrad Toft will tell you more about his experience.
10 EVENTS IN BRATISLAVA
What about camping at the castle?
Devín Castle (Source: One2We)Experience a summer camping adventure at Devín Castle, catch 50 Cent at Lovestream, or soak in the royal atmosphere of the streets of Bratislava.
IN OTHER NEWS
- In his latest video, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) once again attacked the opposition and the media. He accused them of doing everything possible to provoke someone in Slovakia into shooting at a representative of the ruling coalition again. In May, Fico himself was shot several times in Handlová, western Slovakia.
- On Thursday, the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) announced its intention to restrict the promotion of issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The party will introduce a bill to this effect during the parliamentary session in September.
- Former director of the Trenčín hospital, Tomáš Janík, who criticised a failed pipe reconstruction, will be subject to an inspection by the Social Insurance Agency (Sociálna poisťovňa), according to the daily Sme. The Social Insurance Agency will be conducting a review of his company later this month. The agency denies acting on the orders of the Labour Ministry or the Health Ministry, but Janík’s wife and the opposition believe otherwise. A former member of the company responsible for the pipe repairs now holds a significant position at the Health Ministry. Both ministries are led by members of the coalition party Hlas. Janík was dismissed by Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková last year, and the new director ended up paying the company over one million euros.
- Author Jozef Banáš will not be serving as an advisor to President Peter Pellegrini. The president had wanted Banáš to become his advisor on media and culture. According to historians, Banáš worked as an agent for the secret communist police in Czechoslovakia, though he denies this. He has also denied the pandemic and promotes narratives aligned with Kremlin propaganda. (Aktuality)
- Thursday’s fire in the locomotive of the R 708 fast train on the busy railway line near the village of Predmier in the Žilina Region ended without injuries, said the national passenger rail carrier ZSSK. The company added that the smoke, which began around 14:25, was swiftly addressed by the driver’s quick response.
- On Thursday, the Nové Zámky District Court convicted a 39-year-old man from Košice for threatening to shoot Nitra Region Governor Branislav Becík. The court found him guilty of making dangerous threats and sentenced him to six months in prison, with the sentence suspended for a probationary period of one year. Becík had filed a criminal complaint in mid-May after the threat appeared as a comment under his Facebook post about the European Parliament elections, where he was the lead candidate for the Hlas party.
The environmental police uncovered an illegal exotic animal operation valued at hundreds of thousands of euros. The operation, code-named “Flyer”, was conducted in late July in the Piešťany and Skalica districts of western Slovakia. During the raids, officers found approximately 500 live birds of various species and freezers containing over 100 deceased birds, including the protected European bee-eater. (Source: TASR)WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: The weather on Friday will be partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered showers or rain may occur during the day, with isolated thunderstorms possible. Daytime temperatures will range from 25°C to 30°C, with northern areas seeing temperatures around 23°C. (SHMÚ)
AUGUST 9 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Ľubomíra.
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