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SLOVAKIA-VOTE-FACTS
Cars, corruption and love: what you need to know about Slovakia
BRATISLAVA, March 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Slovakia, which kicks off a two-
round presidential election on Saturday, spent decades behind the Iron
Curtain before joining the European Union, the eurozone and NATO.
Last year’s murder of a journalist probing high-level corruption led to
the largest anti-government protests since communist times.
Here are five things to know about the central European country of 5.4
million people.
– Car-driven economy –
With the world’s highest per capita auto production, Slovakia is home to
Volkswagen, Kia Motors, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Jaguar Land Rover car
plants.
Last year, more than a million cars rolled off its assembly lines, while
exports totalled 3.7 billion euros ($4.3 billion).
Overall, the car-making sector has a 44 percent share of Slovakia’s total
industrial production.
The economy is expected to grow 4.5 percent this year, from 4.2 percent in
2018.
The parliament also approved a balanced state budget for 2019 — a first
in the country’s modern history.
– Tourist paradise –
Though geographically one of the smaller EU members, Slovakia boasts nine
national parks, more than 6,000 caves and 180 castles, among other treasures.
It also has nearly 60 well-preserved wooden churches — built without a
single nail — many of them UNESCO world heritage sites. The oldest is the
15th-century Church of St Francis of Assisi in the eastern village of
Hervartov.
Slovakia’s mountains are a favourite ski location in the region.
– Murdered journalist –
Investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee were gunned down in
February 2018 as he was about to publish a story on alleged ties between
Slovak politicians and the Italian mafia.
His murder and explosive report, published posthumously, plunged the
country into crisis, raising concerns about media freedom and corruption and
sparking protests that forced the government to resign.
To date, five people have been charged in the double murder.
Last year, Slovakia earned its worst corruption score since 2013. It
placed 57th — down three spots from 2017 — on Transparency International’s
Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 nations for public-sector
corruption.
– ‘Epicentre of Love’ –
According to the World Record Academy, Slovakia boasts the longest love
poem. The 2,900-line “Marina”, written in 1844, recounts the doomed love
between poet Andrej Sladkovic and his muse Maria Pischlova.
They were star-crossed lovers but unlike Romeo and Juliet their tragic
romance is a true story. Marina’s parents shunned the poor poet and forced
her to marry a wealthy gingerbread maker.
The house where Marina lived in the medieval silver mining town of Banska
Stiavnica is today called the “Epicentre of Love”. The exhibition includes a
“love-o-meter” that measures the strength of a couple’s affection.
– Peaceful split –
The Slovak Republic was part of Czechoslovakia, which declared
independence from the dying Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 and was home to
Czechs and Slovaks.
It remained a stable democracy until dismemberment in 1938. Under Nazi
occupation Slovakia became a puppet state under the regime of Father Jozef
Tiso, who agreed to send tens of thousands of Jews to World War II death
camps.
Czechoslovakia was liberated and a republic restored in 1945. Three years
later, following a Communist coup, the country fell under Soviet domination.
The Velvet Revolution toppled totalitarian rule in 1989, and in 1993
Czechoslovakia split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Michal Kovac became Slovakia’s first head of state. Presidential elections
have since been held in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1110 hrs