MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 18 May 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 17 May): BRATISLAVA - The most important transportation projects in Slovakia are progressing successfully, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) said on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday, noting that Bratislava Airport shouldn't be privatised but developed under state control. "Both my personal opinion and the opinion of the government I serve in is definitely not to privatise any state-owned enterprises or infrastructure. Of course, there are different views on whether a concession or a PPP project for the operation of a specific project constitutes privatisation or not. But I don't think this is even an issue, especially now that our Bratislava airport is doing extremely well," he replied to a question about the possibility of privatising the airport. Raz confirmed that he's still considering running for Bratislava mayor, but hasn't yet made a final decision. "A poll is currently underway, and we'll see how it turns out," he said. In addition to the poll results, he'll also consider whether he can implement more projects as minister or as mayor. According to him, the timing is also important, as parliamentary election is coming up next year. If he had two or more years left in his role as minister, he wouldn't be considering local politics. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, MEP Branislav Ondrus, elected as a Voice-SD member, would like to run for the post of Trade Union Confederation (KOZ) president, adding that he has already left the party to pursue his candidacy. However, Ondrus said he'd like to remain an MEP. MEP Miriam Lexmann (Christian Democrats/KDH) is unsure how he would balance the two roles. She also believes that the trade union could become politicised. Ondrus confirmed that he has the support of five trade union federations. "I must say that we have trade union representatives in the European Parliament. It's actually quite standard for them to sit primarily with the left-wing parties," he said. Lexmann can't imagine how Ondrus would separate his two roles. "I think it's better for [the trade unions] not to be politicised. Because then, with such a political past, a party past, it might be difficult to fight for certain causes," she said. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, MP and leader of the opposition 'Slovakia' party Igor Matovic stated that he considers the coalition's proposal to introduce the possibility of shortening the electoral term by referendum to be underhanded. Matovic pointed out that the 'Slovakia' party also had such a proposal in Parliament during this electoral term, but the coalition parties didn't support it. He believes that the coalition now wants to use this change to pave the way for a return to power after the next parliamentary election. "Suddenly, they realised that they've plundered the country, failed to fulfil any of their campaign promises, and will likely lose the election, so they want to pave the way to get back into power. We certainly won't be helping the mafia get back into power," stressed Matovic. MEP and chairman of the extra-parliamentary Republic party Milan Uhrik supports introducing the option to shorten the electoral term via referendum. In this context, he also spoke about the need to change the quorum required for referendum results to be valid. "The 50-percent quorum is proving to be highly ineffective," he stated. BRATISLAVA - The opposition 'Slovakia' party unveiled another question on Sunday as part of its online survey on its prevrat2027.sk website. The party asks people whether they would support the creation of a website where all government expenditures could be easily found. They believe that the setting up of such a website would be a fundamental step toward maximum transparency in the functioning of the state, local authorities, and public institutions. "We want people to be able to click on their municipality, ministry, or any government agency and see a current overview of the accounts - who was paid how much, for what, and under which budget line. All the money, all the movements of state finances, should be clearly laid out in one place," said MP and party leader Igor Matovic. ko