Word: slota
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...Fico has backed Slota's patriotic act, but now says he prefers to delay its implementation until Sept. 1, a move analysts view as a way of mitigating public outrage before elections scheduled for June. But the legislation already seems to have done enough pre-election harm. "This law makes Slovakia look ridiculous," says Eliska Slavikova, a 57-year-old elementary school teacher. "And it's returning us to the 19th century...
...legislation was sponsored by the Slovak National Party, an ultra-nationalist outfit whose controversial leader, Jan Slota, is known for his xenophobic slurs, which are often aimed at the country's ethnic Hungarians. But Slota maintains that he doesn't just want to instill more patriotism among the Hungarian minority -he wants Slovaks to have more pride in their country, too. (Never mind the fact that his own knowledge of the anthem proved spotty in an interview last week when he confused some of the words and got the author wrong.) "The children's relationship to their nation, to their...
...compulsory patriotism prescribed by Slota's party, which is a junior member of the governing coalition and has been embroiled in alleged corruption scandals for years, has irked many residents, who argue that it will have the opposite effect. "If you want to foster patriotism you must set an example," says Bela Bugar, a veteran ethnic Hungarian parliamentarian and a Slota rival. "Everything that is forced produces aversion." Thousands have signed a petition urging President Ivan Gasparovic to veto the act (he has until Saturday to do so), while others have joined groups opposing the measure on Facebook. Last week...
...Slota isn't the only politician behind the patriotism drive - the left-leaning populist Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has also resurrected Meciar-era nationalist rhetoric during his four years in office. He recently called for a fundraising drive to erect a statue to Prince Svatopluk, a leader of the 9th century Great Moravian Empire in central Europe who has become a central figure in the government's push toward establishing Slovak heroes. Fico also triggered a heated debate when he described the nation's ancestors as "old Slovaks" -an attempt to demonstrate that the country has a deep and respectable...
Mary Frances M. Slota...
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