The opposition has yet to agree on anything that the new coalition government has proposed, and now it has spoken out again at the plan to merge the public radio and TV broadcasters, saying it is nothing more than an attempt to gain control over both the media and replace their management.
These were the statements made yesterday by former culture minister Marek Madaric (from opposition party Smer-SD) after culture minister Daniel Krajcer made the public announcement about the government’s plans.
“They promised to abolish licence fees, and I don’t know why they even initiated a referendum on the issue if they can merge STV and SRo through abridged legislative proceedings” said Madaric. He claims the coalition are misleading the public and not keeping their promises.
In an interview on TV, without naming names Madaric even hinted that the government wanted to install former director of TV Markiza, Vaclav Mika, in the post of head of the new institution, which will be called SRTV (Slovak Radio and Television). The ruling parties reacted to this claim by pointing out that the head of the institution would be selected by parliament.
Yesterday Mika himself said that he had always been interested in STV, but that he was not in discussions with anyone about it, while also saying “never say never”.