Slovak Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor asked whether Slovaks wanted to live in a banana republic after the snap elections on 30 September, after former prime minister and OLaNO leader Igor Matovič got into a physical altercation at a Smer pre-election press conference where the government’s handling of migrant flows was criticised.
During the press conference, Smer criticised the government’s handling of the arrival of hundreds of migrants in cities in southern Slovakia. But Matovič disrupted the event, saying that Smer started issuing residence permits in 2018, which now act as a pull factor.
Matovič, known for his theatrical antics, stopped his car in front of Smer politicians and physically fought with Smer Vice-President Robert Kaliňák. Municipal police had to intervene to prevent the situation from escalating, and Kaliňák announced that he would press charges.
“On 1 October, you can wake up in some kind of banana republic full of hate. Is this what we want Slovakia to be like?” Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor asked in response to the brawl, urging voters to consider the future of Slovakia when they vote in September’s parliamentary elections.
“Hatred, vulgarity and circus. This is not our future,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against Smer leader and former prime minister Robert Fico for “the blatant lies and fabricated accusations he constantly spreads about her.”
Čaputová fears that some of Fico’s supporters and politicians who agree with him may resort to physical violence if such hate speech and false accusations continue to be tolerated.
The president has already won one case against Smer politician Ľuboš Blaha, who was ordered to stop calling her “a traitor” and an agent of foreign powers.
(Barbara Zmušková | Euractiv.sk)
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