Slovakia is standing up
My Dear Friend of Democracy,
Martina Šimkovičov was once a TV anchor.
However, after posting too many anti-migrant social media posts, she was fired from the Slovak television station Markíza TV.
After that, she made a name for herself by espousing anti-LGBTQ+, anti-COVID-19 vaccination and pro-Russian views.
And after that, Prime Minister Robert Fico appointed Šimkovičová as culture minister last October.
One of Šimkovičová's first minister decisions was to restore cultural relations with Moscow, which had been frozen since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Which brings us almost to the present.
Last week, Šimkovičov dismissed the directors of the Slovak National Theatre and Slovak National Gallery, the two most relevant cultural institutions in Slovakia. Many people in Slovakia see these decisions as a political purge.
This is bad news.
In particular, since the removals are part of a broader crackdown.
But here is the good news.
The people of Slovakia are fighting back. They are going to the streets:
See you in Europe,
Johannes