MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, May 5, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, May 4): BRATISLAVA - Speaking on RTVS's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova (Voice-SD) said that she sees no reason for no-confidence motion in her to be held in Parliament. "If Parliament opens the session, I am, of course, ready to defend myself. I don't see any relevant reason to talk about my ouster, since I can explain every single reason," stressed Dolinkova, adding that she didn't take over the Health Ministry from the previous government in good condition. According to MP Tomas Szalay (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS), also on the show, the opposition SaS would probably vote for Dolinkova's dismissal. KOSICE - Michal Simecka was re-elected chairman of Progressive Slovakia (PS) at the party's congress in Kosice on Saturday. Simecka had no rival candidate and obtained votes from 155 of the 161 delegates present. Simecka has been PS's chairman since May 2022 and will lead the strongest opposition party for two more years. At the congress he presented a plan how he wants to defeat Smer-SD in the next general election and replace the government of Premier Robert Fico. He sees the way in regions, the party's growth, new acquisitions and a more accessible economic and social agenda for a wider range of voters. BREZOVA POD BRADLOM - The 105th anniversary of the tragic death of General Milan Rastislav Stefanik was commemorated with the flyover of helicopters, the Slovak anthem, the laying of wreaths and several speeches delivered on the Bradlo hill above the town of Brezova pod Bradlom (Trencin region) on Saturday. Several hundreds of people, including Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and president-elect Peter Pellegrini (Voice-SD) took part in the commemorative event held at Stefanik's monument. Fico in his speech underlined that the foundation stone of the monument was laid 100 years ago. "Our political Slovak sea is so ripply that we need a lighthouse. We need a monument we can lean on in these difficult situations and gain self-confidence here," stated Fico. He stressed that even when Stefanik was abroad, he still had Slovakia and a joint state with the Czechs on his mind. "We can rightfully call him the greatest Slovak of all time," noted the premier. BRATISLAVA - Some 70 percent of Slovaks support Slovakia's membership of the European Union (EU) and NATO, according to the results of the latest survey presented by the Globsec think-tank earlier this week, adding that support grew when compared to 2023. The survey was carried out at the turn of March and April on a sample of 1,000 respondents. In 2023, Slovaks' support for NATO membership stood at 58 percent, but it was 11 percentage points higher in the latest survey. Concerning EU membership, support grew from 64 to 72 percent. ko