The Fico government aspires to dissolve the public broadcaster of Slovakia (RTVS). The three-party governing coalition, led by pro-Russian populist Prime Minister Robert Fitzo, today approved the controversial bill proposed by Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova.
Opposition figures and journalists have for weeks accused the ruling coalition of seeking to replace public broadcaster – which most citizens see as objective and reliable, according to polls – with a propaganda outlet that will toe the government line.
The final decision must be taken by the parliament, where the government has the required majority. Prime Minister Fico told Slovak news agency TASR that he expected the parliamentary vote to be held in June.
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have announced that they will send letters to the European Commission and the European Parliament asking them to put pressure on the Slovak government to abandon the implementation of the plan.
Tens of thousands of people had already protested in March in the capital Bratislava and the city of Kosice against the proposed dissolution of RTVS.
The plan was also criticized by Slovakia’s outgoing president Zuzana Czaputova, whose term ends in June.
Both Prime Minister Fico and Culture Minister Simkovicova have repeatedly criticized the RTVS administration for being biased against the government. However, they failed to oust the director-general and his associates, who have been elected for a term that ends in 2027. The Fico government wants to circumvent this obstacle by disbanding RTVS and replacing it with a new body to be called STaR (Slovak Television and Radio).
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