Mayor Bathory Joins Freedom and Solidarity, to Focus on Transport in East

Kosice/Bratislava, 9 February (TASR) – Peter Bathory has become a new member of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and will focus on transport, regional development and infrastructure in eastern Slovakia, party leader Branislav Groehling announced at a press conference in Kosice on Monday. Bathory is the mayor of the village of Baskovce in Kosice region. Until recently, he also chaired civil association Highway to Zemplin. The head of Freedom and Solidarity views transport as a foundation of economic growth and regional development. A key agenda for him is the Zemplin motorway, with the priority being the construction of the missing 72 kilometres. "People in Zemplin deserve this infrastructure, and I believe that Peter Bathory will be a strong voice to push this priority through," said Groehling. Without infrastructure, Bathory said, the exodus of people from the region will continue, and indicators such as average salaries and unemployment aren't going to improve. "Zemplin has enormous potential, and transport must be one of the main priorities of the next electoral term," he stated. Regarding the civil association that he led for several years, Bathory said he believes he has done his utmost. "You eventually hit a ceiling with civic activism. There's simply no other way to build that motorway than through politics," he said. According to regional Freedom and Solidarity chair Peter Cech, Bathory will also join the Plan for the East team. mf/df