Parliament returns, a vote from Hlas may decide Taraba's fate
According to STVR, the National Council returns to session on Tuesday after the summer recess. STVR ↗ The session agenda has more than 300 items and includes several sensitive topics, including the continuing dispute over Minister Taraba, ta3 notes. ta3 ↗ A Pravda commentator summed up the current state of the standoff between SNS chairman Andrej Danko and Taraba in the question of which of the two will ultimately fail to hold on to his position. Pravda ↗ MP Peter Slyško has since joined the dispute — in SME's morning briefing he did not rule out cooperating with Taraba in parliament, though he is also leaving other options open. SME ↗Justice Minister Moves Against the Verdict, Governor Trnka Against the Police
In the same SME morning briefing, it was reported that Justice Minister Boris Susko has filed an extraordinary appeal seeking to overturn the verdict against former officer Ján Kaľavský, who was finally convicted, and has questioned how the court evaluated the evidence in his case. SME ↗ Kaľavský is a figure who has previously appeared in connection with the case surrounding former police chief Tibor Gašpar, which HotInfo covered in the previous edition of this series. An extraordinary appeal is an exceptional legal remedy that the justice minister files only rarely, which gives Susko's move special weight in this sensitive police-judicial case.A month before the regional elections, the chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region, Rastislav Trnka, faces a similar dispute over trust in the police. He is defending his post as an independent candidate after being indicted this year in the so-called "sypače" (gritting trucks) case. According to SME, he accused the police of misusing an arrest warrant to serve the indictment just before the election, but did not explain how he found out about the service procedure itself in the first place. SME ↗ He has therefore announced that he will turn to the interior minister's inspectorate to review the police's conduct. Pluska ↗
Social Policy: Cuts to Outpatient Care, New Benefits, and Pressure on the Labor Office Chief
According to Hospodárske noviny, the coalition rejected a proposal to save outpatient social services; the opposition KDH wants to bring an amendment to the debate. Hospodárske noviny ↗ Ahead of the vote, the movement itself warned that without intervention, the services are genuinely disappearing. SME ↗ At the same time, the labor minister presented further changes to social benefits, which the opposition, according to STVR, calls unsystematic. STVR ↗ Support for dependent people, on the other hand, is set to grow — according to Markíza, the state will allocate 400 million euros more for it, and new rules will be added to the benefits. Markíza ↗Alongside this, a dispute is also brewing over Ormandy, head of the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. The Progressive Slovakia movement is demanding his dismissal. SME ↗ According to TERAZ, PS MP Simona Petrík accuses him of neglecting social guardianship. TERAZ ↗
State Finances: Dispute Over Fuel, Expensive Commissions, and a Warning Over a Major IT Project
According to TERAZ, the finance ministry pushed back against information from the opposition SaS about fuel prices. TERAZ ↗ Hospodárske noviny also reported on the same issue, noting that the dispute between the ministry and the opposition over the size of any potential price reduction is not going to end soon. Hospodárske noviny ↗ Agriculture belongs to a similar chapter — Pravda points out that the sector in Slovakia is undergoing drastic changes under the pressure of climate change. Pravda ↗On the other side of the budget, remuneration is also rising — Markíza notes that the pay for members of election commissions has increased by 430 percent over ten years, to 165 euros per day. Markíza ↗ Živé.sk, meanwhile, reports on an urgent appeal to the government concerning money and risk related to a major IT project. Živé.sk ↗
Under the Radar
The daughters of Smer-SD MP Ľuboš Muňko obtained ten mooring spots on the Danube without a tender; Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo wants the state-owned company to cancel the contracts, SME writes. SME ↗ Denník N covers the planned reform of local self-government and asks why, today, a mayor has to wait for a government visit to resolve an ordinary problem. Denník N ↗ According to Markíza, the so-called toxic cocktail threatening drinking water in Bratislava still has not been resolved, even though it has been a risky issue for a long time. Markíza ↗ At a school in Košice, according to the same source, children are getting baguettes instead of a hot lunch, as the school has been without a cafeteria for more than two years. Markíza ↗ And according to SME Korzár, financial crime investigators have chosen a new rented headquarters located directly at the premises of a top pharmaceutical distributor for hospitals. SME Korzár ↗ Alongside the regional elections, this year's municipal elections are also taking shape, to be held on the same date — bystricoviny.sk has compiled a complete list of candidates for mayor and the city council in Banská Bystrica. bystricoviny.sk ↗ And according to SITA, the National March for Life is returning to Bratislava once again, this time aiming to highlight gaps in the law. SITA ↗What hotinfo is watching
- Do 15. septembra (dnes): či premiér Fico skutočne predloží návrh na odvolanie ministra Tarabu, alebo sa spor po dnešnom otvorení schôdze presunie na neskôr.
- Klub Hlasu-SD: či Peter Slyško svoju otvorenosť voči spolupráci s Tarabom premení aj na konkrétne hlasovanie počas septembrovej schôdze.
- Kauza Kaľavský: ako súd rozhodne o Suskovom dovolaní a či sa právoplatný rozsudok nad exdôstojníkom naozaj zmení.
- Krajské voľby v Košiciach: aký záver prinesie inšpekčné šetrenie postupu polície voči Trnkovi, mesiac pred hlasovaním o predsedu KSK.
- Sociálne služby a Ormandy: či parlament posunie pozmeňujúci návrh KDH na záchranu ambulantných služieb, a ako sa vyrieši tlak na odvolanie šéfa Ústredia práce.
