Gaspar Insists Hlina Violated Rules of Procedure by Wearing Unsuitable Attire /2

Bratislava, 28 May (TASR) - I insist that opposition MP Alojz Hlina (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) violated Parliament's rules of procedure by entering the chamber without the appropriate attire, House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Thursday, adding that given the new amendments to the rules of procedure, he considers it to be provocative for Hlina to enter the chamber wearing a jacket bearing offensive inscriptions on the very first day of the session. "He didn't learn the rules of procedure, because we said that formal attire must be worn to Parliament, and furthermore, we said that clothing mustn't display political adverts, offensive imagery, or anything else we wanted to define," said Gaspar, adding that the new amendment to the rules of procedure was intended to prevent lawmakers from wearing inappropriate clothing, such as T-shirts with offensive images. "But how else am I supposed to interpret what MP Hlina did on the very first day of the session under the new rules of procedure, when he had this badge embroidered on his jacket as a blatant provocation? Of course, there's no other way to describe it," stressed Gaspar. According to him, Hlina did the same thing again the next day. "He avoided being expelled that time because he realised that there's a stricter penalty for that, and that it would probably have hit him in the wallet as well," he stated. "I found out this morning that he did it a third time and tried to wear that jacket again, probably testing the presiding officials," he added. The new rules of procedure state MPs who are expelled from the chamber incur the penalty of the loss of one month's salary. The opposition MP came to the chamber wearing a jacket with a badge bearing the inscription 'We Don't Want the Smer Mafia'. Hlina said on Tuesday (26 May) that Gaspar himself interpreted the slogan as referring to the Smer–SD party, but it was intended to refer to the country's direction ('smer' means 'direction' in Slovak). Hlina denied that he had breached the parliamentary rules of procedure. "Take it as an act of defiance," he told reporters on Thursday. MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) stated that the parliamentary mandate and immunity committee, which is supposed to address the most serious issues such as the detention of an MP or the loss of a mandate, is being turned into a tool for harassing the opposition. "Today, this committee is being used to address jackets, badges and statements made in the chamber. This is an absolutely unacceptable abuse of parliamentary mechanisms. If anything disparages Parliament, it is precisely the restriction of space for discussion, the suppression of free speech, and the abuse of committees for the sake of personal revenge," she emphasised in a statement. According to her, the coalition is discrediting the public sphere by organising press conferences about MPs' badges and clothing. "At a time when Slovakia is facing the real threat of having billions in EU funds frozen due to the breakdown of the justice system, when people are suffering under a dysfunctional and fee-based health-care system, when state IT projects are collapsing, and when young people are leaving Slovakia, the governing coalition is preoccupied with badges on lawmakers' jackets," said Remisova. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final two paragraphs. am/df