MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 29 December 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 28 December): BRATISLAVA – The opposition must react accordingly to the coalition's insane and radical steps, as harmful proposals pass through Parliament without sufficient notice when opposition lawmakers merely take part in debate, 'Slovakia'-For the People parliamentary caucus head Michal Sipos has told TASR in a year-end interview. Sipos spoke in response to developments in Parliament during the last December session. "When the coalition does insane things, hijacks the state, we have to shout, we have to whistle, we have to hold banners. Of course, we can discuss whether some words used at the last session could have been softer or more carefully phrased. But everyone has a different personality and everyone reacts differently in tense situations," he said. According to Sipos, the current actions of the governing coalition are far worse than the use of vulgar language. "What is happening here is, in my opinion, much worse. I therefore think it is necessary to do at least something, to shout, to raise a banner. It is simply necessary to shout to the nation that something is happening here, that the state is being hijacked and that it could end very, very badly," he noted. Sipos also pointed out that the opposition had, for example, "very politely but critically" opposed the amendment to the Criminal Code adopted in 2024, yet its negative impacts did not resonate strongly enough with the public. "There were many cases when we spoke in Parliament, discussed, made factual remarks and presented arguments, but it did not resonate among people. The bills simply went through. And that makes government officials' appetite only grow. That is why I think that when they do such fundamental, radical and insane things, we must respond in an adequate way," he added. During the December parliamentary session, lawmakers voted on an amendment to the Criminal Code. The opposition disagreed with several changes added to the bill after committee negotiations. From the start of voting on the amendment, opposition lawmakers chanted the word "shame" in the chamber and blew whistles to express their disagreement. There was also a physical scuffle between some coalition and opposition lawmakers. BRATISLAVA - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) lives in a completely different reality from the citizens of Slovakia and mocks them with statistics in which he claims everything is fine, even though, in reality, crime is rising and public safety is declining, former interior minister [2020-23] and MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia'-For the People) has told TASR in an interview. Mikulec spoke in response to personnel police statistics presented by the minister. "He talks about how he has stabilised the Police Corps, and I ask: why then did police officers together with trade unionists hold a protest with black ribbons in front of Parliament, something that has never happened before? He claims he has improved their conditions, and I ask why firefighters are dissatisfied, warning that apart from two dilapidated vehicles they have received absolutely nothing," Mikulec said. According to Mikulec, mountain rescuers and other services are also in poor condition. "Matus Sutaj Estok presented some statistics and theories, making a mockery of people," the former interior minister said. As he added, Sutaj Estok is in effect telling citizens that they merely suffer from a "wrong mindset". "Saying that you managed to recruit more police officers is commendable, but in the end we will see whether this helps replace those senseless gendarmes pushed on you by [Defence] Minister Robert Kalinak," Mikulec said, adding that people can see what is happening in the Police Corps and at the Interior Ministry. BRATISLAVA - Early parliamentary elections cannot be completely ruled out, but this is a very unlikely scenario, Roman Michelko, chair of the coalition's Slovak National Party (SNS) parliamentary caucus, has said in an interview with TASR. According to Michelko, the Slovak National Party is constructively and factually critical of some proposals, including those of its coalition partners, but he stressed that it will not bring down the current government and neither will MPs centered around Tourism and Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak (independents) block Parliament. In Michelko's view, Huliak certainly does not want the governing coalition to collapse. "We know what our responsibility is. There is a strong will to complete the entire electoral term. As for the MPs around Huliak, I can imagine they may not support a particular bill, but I do not expect them to block parliamentary proceedings or engage in obstruction," Michelko told TASR, adding that there's always room to discuss substantive objections, if any arise. "I think Huliak will think very carefully about whether he would engage in a level of obstruction that could endanger the coalition. I believe his political future is very uncertain and he certainly has no interest in seeing this coalition end," he added. In addition, Huliak still wants more bills to get passed, thinks Michelko. "If he wanted to block all Slovak National Party bills, it would be a road to hell, one that would come back to haunt him. We are mature enough to govern even if we do not like each other completely, but rationality will always prevail," the SNS caucus leader emphasised. According to Michelko, the coalition parties want to deliver as many results as possible. "We are far from having fulfilled the government's Manifesto, so there's certainly going to be a will to continue, and I see neither programmatic nor personal obstacles, in terms of relations between leaders, that could threaten the completion of our electoral term," he declared. SNS will not bring down this government, Michelko said. "We are deeply aware of our responsibility. That means we won't automatically agree with everything, but where we have substantive objections, we will explain them to our coalition partners," he concluded. BRATISLAVA - The Education Ministry wants to preserve compensation allowances for teachers while continuing further salary increases, Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) has said in a year-end interview with TASR. Drucker added that experts at a global education forum organised by the OECD had also assessed this step as the right one. As he noted, there are regions in Slovakia where the same nominal wage does not bring the same quality of life. "If you have only 60 percent of the costs for the same flat in one place compared to another, you can afford to buy more than someone who has to pay more," he explained. According to Drucker, compensation allowances help mainly in locations such as Bratislava, Trnava and Kosice, where the cost of living is much higher and people can afford less for the same wage. He pointed that as of January 2026, the salaries of all employees in the education sector will increase by a further seven percent — the same increase as was already applied in September 2025, despite the consolidation of public finances. In Drucker's view, the government and the Education Ministry have thus shown that they care about education. Drucker also stressed that the pace of change must be maintained so that Slovakia moves closer to a pay level comparable to that of university-educated people. In his view, this offers a chance to maintain the quality of education and make the teaching profession more attractive. "Education is the only area in Slovakia that can bring economic growth. That is why it makes sense to invest in education, including through growth in salaries," the minister added. Next year, the ministry plans to present a proposal for an automatic pay mechanism in education, Drucker said. "It should also include the compensation allowance, the rules for its application and what it should be linked to. We may not be able to immediately reach the target level we need to achieve, and it may take two to three years, but we want to come forward with it," he added. mf