Slovakia’s previous public broadcaster has been formally dissolved and replaced by a new state media. Opposition parties immediately filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the law. The accusation: the creation of a propaganda medium.
It was only on Sunday that President Peter Pellegrini signed the STVR law, which had been passed by the left-wing national government majority in parliament. Just before midnight, it was hastily published in the official bill of rights. This fulfilled the condition at the last minute, so that it could enter into force on Monday as planned.
Interim boss appointed
The previous station RTVS formally ceased to exist and the new station STVR became operational. There was not much to see for the public. All the news ran as before with the RTVS logo on screen, and the RTVS website also remained operational at the usual address.
It was not until late Monday afternoon that Deputy Speaker of Parliament Peter Ziga, who was only provisionally responsible for state media, announced the appointment of an STVR boss. Marketing expert Igor Slanina is expected to lead the company with limited powers until the end of September, until an officially elected STVR boss is appointed. This must be chosen by a council, to be determined by the government and parliament.
Dissolution instead of dismissal
Nationalist Minister of Culture Martina Simkovicova and left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico had repeatedly criticized RTVS reporting as biased against them. However, due to the existing legal situation, they were unable to remove Director General Lubos Machaj and his team, who had been elected by a previous parliamentary majority until 2027. With the formal dissolution of RTVS, this obstacle will no longer apply.
Source: Krone
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