Smer-SD: PS Exploiting Tragedies for Political Gain

Bratislava, 21 April (TASR) – The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party is exploiting tragic events for its own political gain, MPs from the governing Smer-SD party declared at a press conference on Tuesday. Posts on social media concerning tragic accidents and pointing to outdated infrastructure were described by MP Zuzana Plevikova (Smer-SD) as "vulturism". She also criticised what she called the misuse of Daffodil Day [marking the day of the fight against cancer, PS posted an AI-generated picture of daffodils with the faces of several governing politicians, with the caption 'Support the Daffodils, But Not These Ones' — playing on a Slovak pun, as narcissists are sometimes called daffodils in Slovak — ed.note]. "Instead of Michal Simecka (PS) sincerely expressing condolences to the victim's family, he shamefully injected politics into the matter. He wrote that neglected infrastructure is costing the lives and health of an increasing number of people in Slovakia. So immediately after this tragic event, he identified a culprit, and that culprit was the transport minister. Yet the information available indicates that the lorry ignored a red light," said Plevikova, referring to a post about a fatal collision between a lorry and a train in Dunajska Streda last Thursday (16 April). Parliamentary Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) pointed to what he described as dehumanisation in politics, which he considers to be unacceptable. "Comparing political opponents to parasites, animals or even diseases has become routine in the language of the opposition. We encounter it in the plenary, in video-conferences and at all press briefings," he said. mf/df