MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 17 November 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 16 November): BRATISLAVA - Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, Interior Minister and Voice-SD party leader Matus Sutaj Estok said his party is currently discussing possible candidates to replace Vice-premier for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy Peter Kmec, hoping that the proposed candidate will be announced soon. Opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka noted that Kmec's resignation from his post confirmed the suspicions surrounding the research, development and innovation calls. Rejecting Simecka's claims, the minister said Kmec's departure was a sign of political culture, as he doesn't want to be part of the government after losing trust of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). Even though Sutaj Estok respects Fico's proposal to dismiss Kmec, he does not understand it. "The prime minister decided to make a public gesture, which I still do not understand, and I don't even know what it was supposed to mean," he said, adding that Kmec was prepared to step down and had communicated with Fico about further steps. The minister also called on Fico to treat all ministers equally, pointing to Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) who offered his resignation to Fico recently, but the prime minister declined. Until Voice-SD chooses its candidate to replace Kmec, a government member from Voice-SD will take up the vacancy. "I will discuss it with the prime minister," added Sutaj Estok. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, chief advisor to the prime minister and MEP Erik Kalinak said he doesn't see any reason for former foreign affairs minister (2012-20) Miroslav Lajcak to step down as adviser to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) after the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) demanded his dismissal. Kalinak believes that the communication Lajcak allegedly had with late US financier Jeffrey Epstein does not indicate any ethical breach or criminal conduct on his part. "SNS leader Andrej Danko has had a systematic problem with Lajcak since when he was foreign minister. He has every right to feel that way, it's his politics. Calling on us to take the steps he considers correct is typical of him. I personally don't see any reason for doing so," said Kalinak. His opponent on the show, opposition MP and Progressive Slovakia (PS) caucus chair Zuzana Mesterova considers the situation serious and thinks that Lajcak should explain the affair to the public. "It's not only that Lajcak shouldn't enjoy the trust of the prime minister; this should actually be the end of his career in the diplomatic and civil service,” she said, asking the competent authorities to investigate any potential conduct that may have caused harm to Slovakia. BRATISLAVA - The strongest weapon in Slovak history was the power of non-violent resistance, but Slovakia is now moving away from the path set out in November 1989 and things are getting vulgar, opposition MP from the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) caucus and important November 1989 figure Frantisek Miklosko stated on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday, pointing to the need for decency as the truth can be conveyed calmly. "Evil has great power. But evil is also capable of self-destruction – evil destroys itself. It is important that there are people ready to carry on the continuity of decency and democracy, that there are ten righteous ones who, when change comes again, can step onto the stage," said Miklosko. He also rejected vulgarisation of society and politics and warned about erosion of democracy. "I don't want to engage in such politics," he noted, adding that Slovakia is currently experiencing a crisis of governance. In this connection, he pointed to chalk messages across Slovakia in reference to last week's incident outside a grammar school in Poprad. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party proposes that Slovakia's membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should be enshrined in the Constitution, with a group of SaS MPs having already submitted a draft constitutional amendment to Parliament, TASR reported on Sunday. According to the sponsors of the draft, it aims to reflect a broad and long-term political consensus on the necessity and significance of EU and NATO membership by explicitly stating in the Constitution that Slovakia is a member state of the European Union and NATO. "At the same time, it proposes that Slovakia's commitment to the values on which the EU is founded - corresponding to the values of the Slovak Republic as a democratic state governed by the rule of law - including its commitment to fulfilling the obligations under NATO membership, should be enshrined in the Constitution," explained the sponsors. ko