Criticism of the government Slovakia dissolves public broadcaster RTVS

Despite prolonged protests, the Slovakian government has agreed to replace the public broadcaster. Critics fear that the government's mouthpiece will take its place.

In Slovakia, the parliament has approved the dissolution of the public broadcaster RTVS. The vote in Bratislava was preceded by months of protests by opposition parties and RTVS employees.

In the end, all 78 MPs from the three social democratic and nationalist governing parties voted in favor of the controversial law. The opposition MPs, however, left the chamber in protest and boycotted the vote.

The nationalist Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova and the left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico had repeatedly criticized the RTVS report as being biased against them. However, they were unable to remove the director general and his team, who had been elected by a previous parliamentary majority for a term of office until 2027, due to the existing legal situation.

Critics see replacement by a government mouthpiece

The formal dissolution of the broadcaster removes this obstacle. RTVS is to be replaced by a new broadcaster called STVR from July 1. A new management could then also be appointed.

For months, critics have accused the government of wanting to replace the broadcaster with a compliant mouthpiece for the government. Tens of thousands of people repeatedly responded to opposition calls for protest in the first few months of the year.

However, following the opposition's defeat in the presidential election at the beginning of April and an assassination attempt on head of government Fico on May 15, the protest movement faded. Last Tuesday, only a few hundred people took to the streets in Bratislava to protest against the government and its media plans.