News digest: New health minister, former basketball player, aims to score points with medical workers
Here’s a brief overview of Thursday's events in Slovakia.
Good evening. Here is the Thursday, October 10 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Dolinková passes the ball to Šaško
Nearly a week after Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas) announced her decision to resign as health minister, citing disagreements over austerity measures affecting healthcare workers’ salaries and a lack of political backing, Kamil Šaško has been appointed as her replacement.
Until recently, Šaško served as the deputy economy minister.
His immediate challenge will be to broker a compromise with healthcare workers on pay in order to avert a potential crisis that could see thousands of professionals leave the understaffed sector. Šaško also pledged on Thursday to scrutinise the flow of funds in the healthcare system. “I will closely monitor and eliminate any loopholes through which resources are being lost,” he said, noting that his primary concern lies with health insurers. For example, by the end of June 2024, the state insurer VšZP faced debts of nearly €50 million.
The new minister has also vowed to surround himself with experts from the medical field, rejecting “obscurantism, quackery, or the denial of medical progress”. While he did not mention him by name, this was seen as a veiled criticism of anti-vaccine SNS MP Peter Kotlár, who has led an inquiry into pandemic management under previous OĽaNO-led governments. Kotlár has repeatedly echoed disinformation about vaccines.
Šaško, 38, a former basketball player who studied in the US and the UK, has a background in investment banking, applied science, and business management. He served as an adviser in the Finance Ministry during previous Fico administrations and later worked at Slovakia’s central bank under Fico’s former finance minister and Governor Peter Kažimír. A member of Hlas, the party founded by President Peter Pellegrini, Šaško secured a seat in parliament in last year’s elections, despite receiving only 1,409 votes—far fewer than Pellegrini’s 338,000.
Doctor Monika Pažinková, his mother-in-law, rose to become head of the Office for Healthcare Supervision during Fico’s previous administrations, benefiting from her connections to Smer, the party that significantly enriched her family.
Opposition parties have criticised Šaško’s appointment, citing his lack of experience in healthcare, despite his family’s medical background. The Slovensko party also raised concerns about his ties to what they called the “Košice-based Smer healthcare network.”
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
- Court: Another court challenges the terrorism charges in the case of the attempted shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico.
- Media: A Slovak prosecutor is investigating a Czech investigative journalist for reports on a Ukrainian sect.
- Housing: Affordable housing in Slovakia is becoming increasingly out of reach, according to a new report by Amnesty International Slovakia.
- History: Fire has shaped the layout of Kežmarok, a town in eastern Slovakia.
- Culture: A 120-year-old log granary, the last of its kind, is being relocated to the Museum of the Liptov Village in Pribylina, preserving a rare piece of traditional Slovak architecture.
If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.
FEATURE STORY
From empire to opportunity
My Slovak ancestors, subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, arrived in America in search of a better life. From working in coal mines near Chicago to building a close-knit immigrant community, their story reflects the resilience and challenges of Slovak immigrants. Generations later, their legacy of faith, family, and the Slovak-American experience continues to shape my own journey, with roots reaching from Slovakia to America and even Japan, writes Slovak American Sarah Hinlicky Wilson.
3 FREE THINGS TO DO IN BRATISLAVA
“I am not mine”
The final week of the exhibition by internationally renowned intermedia artist and activist Anča Daučíková (1950) is underway at Soga Auction House. The collection, featuring numerical paintings and drawings from the late 1980s and early 1990s, reflects life under a totalitarian regime. Through the repetition and layering of numbers, Daučíková critiques the reduction of human value to mere statistics, symbolising the dehumanisation and loss of individuality in an authoritarian system.
IN OTHER NEWS
- The Culture Ministry is initiating changes to the state language law that will tighten oversight of its usage and increase penalties for violations. Fines and “language inspectors” were first introduced by the Vladimír Mečiar government in 1995 under Culture Minister Ivan Hudec. This move sparked strong backlash from the opposition at the time, as well as from international organisations. Since then, the law has been softened multiple times. (Denník N)
- Trade unionists, once significant political allies of Robert Fico, are voicing their dissatisfaction with the consolidation package and measures of Fico’s fourth government. The Confederation of Trade Unions has urged President Peter Pellegrini not to sign the package. According to the unions, social dialogue under Fico’s fourth government is merely formal. (Denník N)
- Slovakia is represented at the World Ranger Congress in France by TANAP National Park Director Peter Olexa and Róbert Javorský. Olexa has a controversial history, having previously been convicted for wolf poaching. Critics have also targeted Javorský, head of TANAP’s ranger service, accusing him of lobbying against volunteer rangers. (Aktuality)
- Facebook has denied claims made by Slovensko leader and MP Igor Matovič on Wednesday that it blocked the page of the Slovensko movement. A spokesperson for the social media platform clarified, “There was a temporary technical issue that caused some pages worldwide to load incorrectly.” Matovič had previously blamed the situation on the “government mafia”.
- Slovakia ranks among the least successful countries in Central and Eastern Europe when it comes to attracting foreign investments. It lags behind not only the Balkan states but also its neighbours, warns Ľubomír Koršňák, an analyst at UniCredit Bank. (Denník N)
- The Finance Ministry has presented its budget proposal for the upcoming year. Revenues are projected to reach €59.9 billion, while expenditures are set at €66.5 billion. The deficit is expected to gradually decrease from 4.7 percent of GDP in 2025 to 3.7 percent in 2026, and to 3 percent in 2027. The government plans to allocate €235 million for energy aid. Healthcare spending is projected to reach €9.6 billion in 2025, an increase of €691 million compared to 2024.
- On Thursday, Veronika Tóthová hosted the morning news on the state television channel STVR, making her on-screen debut just a few days earlier. Tóthová also serves as a PR specialist for Bratislava airport, which is owned by the Transport Ministry. In response to questions from the daily Sme, STVR announced that it would terminate its collaboration with Tóthová due to a potential conflict of interest. STVR does not have a properly elected director and lacks an official logo. Additionally, there have been several instances in which management intervened in news broadcasting. (Sme)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: On Friday, expect a mix of clouds with scattered showers in some areas. Daytime temperatures will range from 10°C to 19°C. (SHMÚ)
OCTOBER 11 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Valentína.
Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram (@slovakspectator).
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
