SaS: Devastation of Culture Under Current Culture Ministry Continues (2)

Bratislava, 8 January (TASR) - The devastation of the country under the current governing coalition is clearly reflected in the devastation of culture under the current Culture Ministry, the opposition's Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party stated on Thursday. At a press conference, the party criticised the ministry's steps so far and voiced concerns about risks facing the cultural sector in 2026. In response, the ministry rejected what it called attacks by liberals and expressed surprise at statements from a party that had been part of a government with the "most invisible" culture minister in history. "The Culture Ministry is guided by a motto of revenge against the inconvenient and critics of the current leadership," SaS leader Branislav Groehling declared. According to him, political pressure and "purges" of those opposing the way the ministry is run are already being felt by cultural actors in institutions across Slovakia. Groehling also criticised the ministry's financial management and its approach to consolidation. Instead of making spending more efficient, he said, it is heading towards reducing human and professional capacity in culture. Rene Parak, the SaS' culture specialist, said Slovakia lacks strategic frameworks and action plans for development in this area. He also claimed that professionalism and creativity in the Slovak culture are being suppressed by politicisation. "The year 2025 showed that the Culture Ministry has no ambition to develop Slovak culture, but rather to control it through power and ideology," underlined Parak. He criticised unsystematic layoffs, the appointment of loyal people without expertise and skills, interference in the functioning of public funds affecting independent and regional culture, as well as efforts to change the status of the national media regulator and the erosion of processes for using external resources in the rescue and restoration of heritage assets. The ministry rejected allegations of a power-driven takeover of culture. "The current leadership has no interest in taking over and politicising culture; on the contrary, it is trying to return culture to all citizens of the Slovak Republic," said Petra Demkova, the director of the ministry's press department. She also recalled the period when SaS was in government, when Natalia Milanova served as minister. "During her tenure, Slovakia's cultural heritage found itself in a critical state. For example, there was a risk of serious damage to the Romanesque Palace at Spis Castle, the rescue of which had to be addressed by minister Martina Simkovicova (a nominee of the Slovak National Party) under time pressure to avoid international embarrassment," Demkova said. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final two paragraphs mf