The Parliament of Slovakia approved this Thursday the abolition of the public radio and television entity RTVS and its replacement by another entity, StaR, which will be subject to government control. The controversial law was adopted with the vote of the deputies of the coalition in power, formed by populists and ultranationalistswhile the entire opposition left the plenary session in protest.

Public radio and television has been accused of reporting subjectively and not independent by the Government of Prime Minister Robert Fico. The legislation aims to close the Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), which will be replaced by Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) in a maneuver by the Fico Executive to be able to take greater control over the public entity.

The Slovak Parliament held a session in which only members of the ruling party and its partners participated, while the opposition did not attend. Thus, the proposal has gone ahead with the full support of those present in the Chamber. At the end of April, the Fico Government approved the closure of public radio and television in a controversial project that still had to go through Parliament, where it was already expected that its final approval would be nothing more than a procedure.

Fico and the Minister of Culture, Martina Simkovicova – the promoter of the measure – have repeatedly criticized the management of the RTVS for alleged bias against him, and they tried unsuccessfully to remove the general director of the chain. Slovak legislation prevented that maneuver, since the head of public radio and television was elected for a term until 2027. The Executive has thus completed its project to overcome this situation by eliminating RTVS and promoting the new STVR.

Beyond the change in nomenclature, the law includes the appointment of the general director of radio and television to through a Council made up of several members, three of them selected by the Ministry of Culture. It also stipulates the creation of a Council to oversee programming.

“It is a direct attack on democracy”

“It is a direct attack on democracy“, declared a member of the opposition before leaving the room. The law, which was approved in an emergency procedure highly criticized by the opposition, was supported by the 78 government deputies who are the majority in the National Council, of 150 seats. RTVS employees protested with a work stoppage this Thursday afternoon, the second strike called in the history of the public entity, which despite this continued to broadcast some programs.

“This law removes one of the pillars of democracy“said another legislator, alluding to the independence that RTVS enjoyed until now with respect to the Executive, since its president was elected by Parliament. At the head of the new entity, named Slovak Television and Radio (StaR), there will be a board of directors of nine members, four of whom will be appointed directly by the Ministry of Culture.

Another opposition deputy referred to the influence that the policies with which the Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultranationalist Viktor Órban, has limited freedom of the press. Since the bill was announced, there have been massive protests in the streets. The Executive headed by Robert Fico, a declared admirer of Orbán, says that the RTVS does not fulfill its mission of objectivity, respect for the diversity of opinions, and promoting the national interest, supporting the country’s cultural values ​​and traditions.

As soon as he came to power last fall, Fico has declared an embargo on several private media (Markiza, Denník N, Sme, Aktuality.sk). RTVS reporters have also been censored by members of the Executive in press conferences.