Public Protest in Bratislava: Opposition Calls for Gov't Resignation

Bratislava, September 20 (TASR) - An anti-government protest was held on Hodzovo Square in Bratislava, organised by the opposition Smer-SD party, with calls being made for the resignation of the government and immediate addressing of the energy crisis. Smer-SD chair Robert Fico pointed out that all opposition parties had been invited to the protest. "This is no time for politicking. We need to display the unity that must lead to the replacement of the government," he underlined. Fico took potshots at the media over the way they report on the protest. According to Fico, the government and President Zuzana Caputova are to blame for the growing prices to a large extent because "they have dragged Slovakia into the war that doesn't concern Slovakia at all". Head of non-parliamentary Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko sees a solution to the energy crisis in buying Russian gas. He declared that he's in touch with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov and lauded Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as an example of model statesmanship. Non-parliamentary Republic chair Milan Uhrik finds the so-called anti-Russian sanctions suicidal and also praised Hungary for the way it's handling the energy crisis. Aside from members of a number of non-parliamentary parties, also present were representatives of the Slovak Towns and Villages Association, head of the Judiciary Labour Unions Ingrid Vrkocova and Jozef Hambalek, who has been put on the EU sanctions list over his collusion with the Russian hybrid operations. mf/mcs