By Peter Dlhopolec
Copyright sme
Greetings from Slovakia — where, after a public holiday, people returned to the streets in opposition-organised protests against the government’s new consolidation drive.
You are reading the Tuesday, 16 September edition of Today in Slovakia.
Our Lady of Sorrows gave Slovakia a day of rest on Monday. But in 2026, that rest may be interrupted: the government is weighing up whether to suspend the day off, keeping the religious holiday but asking people to go to work. It insists the move will help patch up public finances.
Thousands of pilgrims travelled to Šaštín, as they have for centuries, to honour Slovakia’s patron saint. For politicians, it was also an irresistible backdrop — President Peter Pellegrini among those posting his pious video.
But ministers are less interested in devotion than in deficits. The logic is simple: fewer holidays mean more productivity and healthier books. The problem is equally simple: one or two days off the calendar will not plug the budget hole. Yet, as always in Slovakia, the smallest measures tend to spark the loudest rows.
Officials now claim they are in dialogue with the Vatican (blame the treaties). When the bishops earlier said they would welcome such talks, that was diplomatic shorthand for: they were not happening then. Epiphany (6 January) — Christmas for many Eastern Christians — the government suggested would remain a holiday but not a day off in 2026. After public criticism, it now floats 15 September as the date that might be removed instead. Does that sound like Rome was genuinely consulted? If it were, there would be a deal.
Would losing this holiday on 15 September for a year be a disaster? Hardly. The economy might get a nudge, while the Church’s sway would shrink a little. Believers are fewer each year; the number of religious days off may eventually follow. Slovakia has plenty of public and religious holidays — more than most European countries. And in the meantime, Sunday is still there for rest and worship.
The bigger issue remains unresolved: church and state have still not been fully separated, more than three decades after November 1989. A truly secular Slovakia is still unfinished business.
At Monday’s mass, Bishop František Trstenský said the Church should be “a bearer of hope, a light showing the way — not a shadow deepening the darkness”. His words were striking. But for many Slovaks, it is the Church — not faith — that stopped being that light long ago. Increasingly, people are turning to the state for better days — but those days have yet to arrive.
And some are no longer waiting quietly: they are already out in the squares, calling for change.
People in Slovakia rally against being squeezed
Slovakia’s fractured opposition is testing a new message: together, they can take on Prime Minister and Smer party leader Robert Fico.
On Tuesday evening, an estimated 16,000–18,000 people filled Bratislava’s Freedom Square for a rally that felt as much like a protest as a campaign kickoff. Four opposition leaders — Progressive Slovakia’s Michal Šimečka, Christian Democrat Milan Majerský, SaS chief Branislav Gröhling, and former defence minister Jaroslav Naď of the Democrats — took the stage together, flashing victory signs to chants of “Konečne!” (“Finally!”).
The symbolism was obvious: a divided opposition is trying to look like a government-in-waiting.
Protests erupted in 16 towns across Slovakia: Banská Bystrica, Bardejov, Bratislava, Kežmarok, Košice, Liptovský Mikuláš, Nitra, Lučenec, Považská Bystrica, Ružomberok, Senica, Prešov, Spišská Nová Ves, Trenčín, Trnava a Žilina.
Why it matters: Fico is driving a controversial economic package through parliament that will raise taxes and social levies, while sparing the country’s oligarchs. Business groups warn it will punish competitiveness; opposition leaders call it daylight robbery.
Šimečka framed the fight as bigger than fiscal policy. “Not only is the government taking your money — it is taking your dignity,” he said, reprising slogans of the 1989 Velvet Revolution: “In unity there is strength”.
Adding fuel to the fire: Fico’s government plans to scrap 17 November — the day commemorating the fall of communism — as a public holiday and a day off, a move widely opposed by the opposition and people.
Escalation ahead? Gröhling and Naď openly called for a general strike on 17 November — evoking November 1989 tactics — to force Fico into retreat. Protesters in the square carried banners reading “Enough of Fico” and “Governing does not mean stealing”. The question is who, beyond the opposition, would be willing to back the idea.
Who’s out: Notably absent from the stage was Igor Matovič’s Slovensko movement. Though he shrugged off the snub, his movement later blasted Progressive Slovakia — which organised the anti-consolidation protest — for vetoing their participation. Many are asking whether the opposition can truly unseat Fico without Matovič. They have until the 2027 election to prove it.
Czech guest: Among the crowd in Bratislava was Czech Deputy PM and Interior Minister Vít Rakušan. His presence was flagged from the stage by PS leader Šimečka — though Rakušan himself stayed off the microphone.
The Brussels angle: Fico has already raised eyebrows in the EU with his soft line on Russia and a China-friendly foreign policy. Now he faces a resurgent opposition willing to use the language — and maybe the tactics — of 1989. For EU leaders worried about another illiberal drift on their eastern flank, Bratislava’s opposition suddenly looks more serious.
The next test: Can Šimečka and company hold this alliance together? Slovaks have seen grand coalitions before, and they rarely end happily.
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Slovakia has long been a country travellers stumble upon — a pleasant surprise between Vienna and Budapest. But can it become a destination in its own right? In the latest episode of Spectacular Slovakia, Oscar Brophy explores how three guides and storytellers are working to turn chance encounters into intentional journeys.
If you like what we’re doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.
Socialists lose patience with PM Fico
The writing is on the wall for Robert Fico’s Smer. According to Euractiv, the Party of European Socialists (PES) has already taken a unanimous leadership decision to expel Smer, with formal approval expected at its Amsterdam congress in mid-October.
Why now: After years of warnings and suspensions, European socialists have had enough of Fico’s tilt toward Moscow and Beijing, his coalition with the far-right SNS, and repeated assaults on rule of law and independent media. Former Smer MEP Boris Zala says the party’s shift into hard-right culture wars — including moves to enshrine “two genders” in the Slovak constitution — sealed the break.
No way back: Expulsion would leave Smer’s MEPs permanently adrift, cut off from the S&D group. Analysts say there is virtually zero chance of return. These MEPs may lack influence in Brussels, but they are noisy online. In their latest YouTube video, they boasted of writing to top EU officials about alleged UK interference in Slovakia’s 2023 elections.
The optics: For Fico, who once floated easily in Europe’s social democratic mainstream, isolation in Strasbourg and Brussels is now almost complete. Slovak analyst Radovan Geist told Denník N: “They have concluded this party will not change … there is no reason to continue cooperating.”
Fico’s response: silence. His last Facebook post dates back to 12 September.
IN OTHER NEWS
Jaguar Land Rover plants worldwide, including in Nitra, will remain shut down until at least 24 September following a cyberattack. Slovakia’s Platform of Helping Organisations has warned of a serious problem after the Health Ministry removed 5 percent glucose from its list of reimbursed medicines. Glucose is essential for administering many cancer treatments, but patients are now forced to pay unregulated prices set by distributors and pharmacies. Advocacy groups say this threatens access to life-saving chemotherapy.On Tuesday, Slovakia’s parliament continued its 39th session, focusing on a proposal for fast-track legislative proceedings on the government’s consolidation package. Debate on the bill itself will follow later, with the session set to resume on Wednesday, 17 September.Inflation in Slovakia eased in August 2025, with consumer prices up just 0.1 percent month-on-month — the lowest growth rate this year. Annual inflation slowed to 4.2 percent, still among the three highest figures since December 2023. Food, accommodation, alcohol and tobacco recorded the fastest year-on-year increases, while transport and food services drove August’s month-on-month rise.Slovakia reported nearly 100 new hepatitis cases last week, more than half of them in the Nitra Region. A bomb threat was reported at Poprad railway station shortly before noon on Tuesday, police confirmed. Officers carried out a security sweep and opened a criminal investigation, while passenger train services through the station were suspended.
WEDNESDAY WEATHER BRIEFING: Variable cloud, showers north/east, snow above 2,000m; 16–21°C. (SHMÚ)
NAME DAY: Wednesday belongs to Olympia — congrats to everyone celebrating.
CULTURE FIX: Othelo, o Grande — Brazil’s legendary comic Sebastião Bernardes de Souza Prata — Grande Otelo — gets the documentary treatment. (Brazil, 2023, English subtitles, screening at Kino Lumière in Bratislava, 17 September, 18:00)
And that’s all for today. Thanks for following along — Matúš’s with you Wednesday.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
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