The political crisis in Slovakia is over, but for how long? Overview On April 1, 2021, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová appointed a new government headed by Eduard Heger. The new government was formed by the same four entities of the ruling coalition (two movements – OĽANO and We Are Family – and two parties – SaS and For People) that a year ago, after the last parliamentary elections, formed a government with Prime Minister Igor Matovič, OĽaNO’s leader. Compared to the previous arrangement, there have been just minimal personnel changes – a new Health Minister has taken office and a new Minister of Labor and Social Affairs will be appointed soon. By Grigorij Mesežnikov
Happy Birthday to You, V4 Analysis Special anniversaries are always a good occasion on which to ask the principle questions featured in the title of Gauguin´s famous painting: “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” Let´s do that for the Visegrad Four group now that it is celebrating its 30th anniversary. By Oľga Gyárfášová
In a Normal Country: The impact of the killing of Ján Kuciak on the administration of justice in the Slovak Republic Analysis In Slovakia in February 2018 the journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were murdered. Their killing has brought about a fundamental shift of political power in the country, leading to the prosecution of high-profile defendants, including the man accused of ordering the murder. Three years later we can state that even though the man who ordered the hit has not been punished, there is a chance that this crime will eventually result in an improvement in the administration of justice in the country. By Marek Káčer
Slovak 2020 General Elections: Analyses of Parliament Scenario(s) Article Slovak political landscape is exceptionally fragmented ahead of February 29 general elections. One of the last opinion polls published before the election polls moratorium foresees eight parties to be represented in the parliament. However, conceivable scenarios include 6 to 12 parties possibly entering the parliament. This pre-election analysis was published by EuroPolicy in cooperation with the Prague office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. By Zuzana Gabrižová
“No country for young wo/men?!” The paraphrase above of the 2007 Coen Brothers’ movie title “No Country for Old Men” has recently become a catchy metaphor for the sentiment of many young people in Central and Eastern Europe. Its provocative “claim” is unfortunately substantiated and strong empirical evidence exists of a high proportion of young people ready to leave their country to study, work and live abroad. By Oľga Gyárfášová
Political context of the murder of a journalist in Slovakia Article The news about the murder of the investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová has shaken the entire country. They are not the only people who have been killed in Slovakia since 1989: “undesirable” people have already been physically eradicated in affairs that were linked, to a greater or lesser extent, to politics. By Grigorij Mesežnikov
Slovak echoes of Brexit On 1 July 2016 Slovakia assumed the Presidency of the EU Council. The government had been planning to implement the agreement reached between the UK and the EU in February 2016. But now they have to deal with the fact that Great Britain is leaving the European Union. By Grigorij Mesežnikov
The 2016 elections in Slovakia: a shock No parliamentary elections in Slovakia have ever caused so much surprise, consternation and dismay as those held on 5 March 2016. The results can be readily characterised as shocking. By Grigorij Mesežnikov
In Favour of a Solidary EU Refugee Policy A special EU summit of heads of state and government will take place on 23 September. After years of neglect, however, a solidary EU refugee policy cannot be elaborated in summary proceedings and under pressure. A commentary by Eva van de Rakt. By Eva van de Rakt
A "Brown Saturday" in Bratislava: Extremists Greet Refugees At the GLOBSEC 2015 security conference organised recently in Bratislava, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán concordantly rejected a European Union proposal to introduce a quota system for allocating refugees arriving in Europe from Africa and the Middle East to individual countries. The method in which the politicians formulated their disapproval, however, attested to the fact that they do not have a problem with quotas as such, but that they do not want “unwanted” foreigners to enter their countries. But whereas in the case of the Hungarian prime minister the negative position on quotas could be interpreted as a reaction to the wave of migrants entering his country from Serbia, including ethnic Albanians fleeing socio-economic problems in Kosovo, in the case of Robert Fico this was a statement of position pro futuro without any connection to the present situation in Slovakia - essentially a preventive warning that foreigners (refugees, migrants) are not welcome here. By Grigorij Mesežnikov