What Slovakia Is Writing About: Fico Pushes Saková Toward a Nuclear Plant Deal. Hlas Offers Him the Powers in Full, SNS Sets Up Regions for Republika

The dispute over who will complete preparations for the new nuclear power plant changed within a single day from a dispute over competencies into a test of how firmly the coalition is holding together. Prime Minister Robert Fico is pushing Economy Minister Denisa Saková toward an agreement on buying ČEZ’s stake in the company JESS and at the same time publicly attacked his former adviser Eduard Chmelár. Hlas responded that if the Government Office negotiates a better price, it will hand over the competencies to him immediately, while Andrej Danko meanwhile offered Republika an agreement on the regions.

Nuclear Plant: the Prime Minister Pushes, Hlas Offers Him the Powers in Full

All newsrooms picked up one sentence by the prime minister, but each made a different story out of it. TASR and Aktuality presented it as conditional support: if the Economy Ministry negotiates a better price for ČEZ’s stake, it has Fico’s support. TASR ↗ Aktuality.sk ↗

Refresher read the same sentence as a threat, meaning that if Saková blocks the project, the prime minister will intervene. Štandard framed it as pressure for a deal, and SME noticed a detail missing elsewhere: Hlas chairman and Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok has so far not publicly backed his minister. Refresher ↗ Štandard ↗ SME ↗

Hlas then responded in a way that does not calm the dispute, but shifts it. The party announced that if the Government Office negotiates a better price, it will immediately hand over the competencies to it, and its Economy Ministry also requested an independent assessment of the price. Denník N read this as a gesture of weakness and wrote in a commentary that no one respects Hlas anymore and that it is taking blows from every side. This is the framing of a commentary, not a fact. Aktuality.sk ↗ TASR ↗ Denník N ↗

ČEZ itself also entered the dispute. According to its statement, speculation about the sale of its stake is insulting to it, and it is considering legal steps. The Czech view is more factual than the domestic one: iHNed writes that Fico’s dream of a state nuclear power plant is stalling and Bratislava is arguing over how much ČEZ will receive for its stake. And the opposition KDH agrees with the government on one thing, namely that ownership in JESS must be settled. Postoj ↗ iHNed ↗ TASR ↗

Chmelár: I Accused No One, It Was a Reflection

The second half of the dispute is personal. Fico sharply rejected the claims of his former adviser Eduard Chmelár, according to Pravda especially his words about “grabbing 90 million” in the nuclear project, and threatened him with a lawsuit. Pravda ↗

Chmelár rejects this. On ta3, he said the prime minister is not telling the truth and that he accused no one, because it was only a reflection. He responded to the lawsuit threat by saying that the prime minister cannot distinguish an opinion from an accusation. Precision is needed here: these are mutual claims by two sides, not a finding by a court or oversight body. What matters is that the price for ČEZ’s stake is also being criticized by Chmelár, a person from the prime minister’s original circle, not only by the opposition. ta3 ↗ Pravda ↗ Denník N ↗

SNS Sets Up Regions for Republika

Andrej Danko was authorized to negotiate with Milan Uhrík on a joint approach, and the offer is specific. SNS will support Milan Mazurek in the fight for the Prešov Self-Governing Region if Republika approves its candidate in the Žilina Region. Štandard adds that SNS is also considering cooperation with Republika in parliamentary elections. SITA ↗ Refresher ↗ Štandard ↗

The same Danko is meanwhile waiting for a decision on the environment minister. Štandard therefore makes Taraba a measure of Danko’s real influence in the coalition and says September will provide the answer. Taraba, meanwhile, is sticking to his agenda: he announced a water-management reform that is meant to speed up the construction of water mains and sewerage systems through easements. Aktuality.sk ↗ HN ↗

The Government Returns to the Constitution, Candidate Lists Are Closing

The government is meeting today after the summer break and has on the table a constitutional amendment that would make it possible to recall parliament by popular vote. This is a change that would rewrite the relationship between a referendum and the mandate of the National Council, exactly the issue Slovakia has been arguing over for years. Pravda ↗ TASR ↗

At the same time, deadlines before the combined municipal and regional elections are getting shorter. In Bratislava, one submitted candidacy for mayor has been registered so far; in Košice, five candidate lists for councillors; and the Interior Ministry reminds that the time for submitting lists is coming to an end. SITA ↗ TASR ↗

State Money: a Billion-Euro Hospital and Twenty Kodiaqs

The dispute over the price of a major construction project has specific figures. Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák most recently said that construction of the Prešov hospital would cost 750 million euros; the opposition Democrats came with additional items worth almost 300 million, which they say the minister had not mentioned so far, which would push the construction above one billion. Kaliňák rejects this. The same project, the new military hospital in Prešov, is also criticized by former defence minister Jaroslav Naď, according to whom they do not want to build it, but to profit from it. This is a dispute between political actors, not the result of an audit. Denník N ↗ Korzár ↗

A smaller item that slipped under the radar: the Defence Ministry ordered twenty Škoda Kodiaq vehicles for more than 871,000 euros, while according to the technical specifications in the order, most of them could be headed to the gendarmes. Pravda ↗

Under the Radar: a Photo from the Sheikh’s Visit and New Inheritance Rules

Businessman Miroslav Výboh was also present at the prime minister’s meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates. The Government Office did not communicate his participation; it was revealed by a photograph published by the Emirati side. Three newsrooms described it almost identically, and all emphasized the same thing, namely that domestic communication about his participation was missing. SME ↗ Denník N ↗ Aktuality.sk ↗

The second thing that was lost among political disputes will affect far more people than the nuclear plant. The new Civil Code is to weaken children’s mandatory share of inheritance, meaning to give parents greater freedom in deciding on property, and at the same time change the rules for marital joint property, which may also change divorce outcomes. Štandard ↗ HN ↗

And third, numbers that politicians do not like to read. According to the weekly Political Index by the New School Communications agency, reported by SITA, in the week from August 3 to 9 Július Jakab from Hnutie Slovensko became the winner of all four platforms at once. Prime Minister Fico’s interactions on Facebook fell from almost 53,000 to fewer than nine thousand and he did not even make the top ten; President Peter Pellegrini published nothing on YouTube and almost 24,000 views became zero. This is a measurement of reach on networks, not a poll of electoral preferences. SITA ↗

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