PM Fico Gives Lecture to Students in Poprad, Some Leave Early

Poprad/Bratislava, 14 November (TASR) – Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) gave a lecture and held a discussion with students at the District Office in Poprad on Friday, with most of the attendees wearing black clothing to express disagreement with the current direction of the country, while some of the students left the event early. The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place at Dominik Tatarka Grammar School in Poprad last week, but it was moved due to a change in the prime minister's schedule. Around one hundred students from three local secondary schools took part. "Here in Poprad we are discussing international relations and, imagine, we even have different opinions," wrote Fico in a social media post. He later reacted online to the early departure of part of the audience. "When they had the chance to discuss, they left. But others came, ready to debate and respect a different opinion, because without that there is no free discussion, and without free discussion there is no democracy," stated the prime minister. Juraj Gedra, head of the Government Office, said that the goal of the meeting was to familiarise students with the international political experience of the four-times prime minister. "We are approaching 17 November, a day of discussion, respect, tolerance, understanding and the ability to speak even about things on which we cannot agree," said Gedra, adding that it is necessary to speak with young people even if they hold different views. One student who left early told the media that the meeting was unpleasant and that they didn't have the space to discuss with the prime minister at the level they had expected. "I had no reason to leave; I was interested in hearing the speech of such a controversial person. I felt like I was at a political press conference," said another student. According to him, most of the topics were controversial and the atmosphere tense. Several chalk messages appeared on the pavement in front of the District Office in reference to last week's incident outside Dominik Tatarka Grammar School. mf/df