News digest: SND Opera director resignes amid failed attempts to oust Culture Minister
Small videogame team hoping for a hit title, Slovakia looks to nuclear, and a celebration of guitars with Slovak roots.
Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, August 21 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Title
After two failed attempts at no-confidence vote against Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nominee) and Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer) at an extraordinary session on Tuesday and Wednesday, Parliament will deal with the proposals at a regular session in September.
On both days Parliament did not reach the required quorum as only 51 and 48 MPs, respectively, were present, with almost none from the ruling coalition including ministers.
Progressive Slovakia (PS) chair Michal Šimečka considers their absence disparaging towards Parliament and citizens of Slovakia. He didn't rule out calling another extraordinary session or more protests.
The proposal was submitted by opposition parties PS, SaS and KDH, who criticise Šimkovičová for personnel changes in the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) and Slovak National Theatre (SND), among other things. On the other hand, Susko is criticised for freeing a former chief prosecutor convicted of corruption.
Citing the changes at the SND as the reason and calling the current situation "unacceptable and unsustainable", Martin Leginus, the director of the theatre's opera department, resigned on Wednesday. According to him, the theatre has been without a statutory representative since SND director Matej Drlička was dismissed two weeks ago.
"The operation of the department in the form in which it is supposed to function is blocked. I don't agree with such state of affairs, and I refuse to accept responsibility for the consequences caused by the fact that the ministry's management isn't dealing with this situation," Leginus added. Last week, Matej Bošňák, the SND chief financial officer, stepped down from his position, citing similar reasons.
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FEATURE STORY
Hoping for a videogame hit
While its neighbouring countries have already had one or more big videogame hits, Slovakia cannot say the same. But with game development gaining attention and importance, this might change soon. One such game could be Vivat Slovakia, an open-world game made by the small Bratislava-based developers Team Vivat in the vein of the (in)famous Grand Theft Auto series. The Slovak Spectator talked to Roman Lipka, the producer of the game about its development.
EVENT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS
Celebration of guitars with Slovak roots
Among the thousands of Slovaks that emigrated in early 20th century was one Ján Dopjera, who later became known as John Dopyera. Gifted in music, in 1920s he was approached to create something louder than the regular acoustic guitar. He came up with what became to be known Dobro, a resonator guitar with a metallic tone. On August 21-23 in its historic centre, the town of Trnava, western Slovakia, holds the Dobrofest festival to celebrate the instrument. Admission is free, learn more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
- According to the police, a soldier in reserve who on social media threatened former president Zuzana Čaputová, former defence minister Jaroslav Naď and former PM Eduard Heger that he would "remove and shoot" them committed only a misdemeanor. The case will be dealt with by a district office in Vranov nad Topľou, eastern Slovakia. Naď desrcibed the situation "double standard" and called on Interior Minsiter Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) to stand by his words after the attempted assassination on PM Robert Fico in May that police would not turn a blind eye to death threats on social media. (My Prešov)
- After 21 years, the open-air mining musuem in the village of Cigľa, northeastern Slovakia, has been closed due to concerns for the safety of its visitors due to huge amounts of underground water. The tourist attraction, which copied the miners' journey underground, was visited by approximately 60,000 people during operation. The tour began with a 2.3-kilometre long train ride to the mine and continued on foot through the underground spaces at a depth of 80 to 300 metres below the surface. (My Horná Nitra)
- An August 28-29, the town of Banská Bystrica will host a country-wide celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. In addition to a cultural programme, a military parade will be rehearsed, which will involve traffic restrictions. These will include closure of the first class road between Banská Bystrica and Zvolen, the R1 expressway, the main road along river Hron and several streets in the town centre. Drivers will be informed of the restrictions via signs. In addition, visitors to the town will be able to use temporary park-and-rides and shuttle services. (Banská Bystrica)
- State energy supplier SPP plans to build five wind farms in three localities in Slovakia; one in the area of the village of Drahovce, two in the area of Skalica, both western Slovakia, and two in the area of Galanta, southwestern Slovakia. They are being assessed for their environmental impact. So far, Slovakia has only five wind turbines. (SITA)
- The governing party Hlas continues to insist on adherence to the coalition agreement and on its right to fill the vacant post of Speaker of Parliament after Peter Pellegrini became President. The party also says there is no reason for an overhaul of the goverment. (TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Partly cloudy to cloudy skies, occasionally showers expected. Daily temperatures will rise to between 18 °C in the northern regions to 27 °C in the southern regions. (SHMÚ)
AUGUST 22 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Tichomír
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