Provocative independent MP Igor Matovic (head of the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities party) has been involved again in a scuffle in parliament, this time with SNS caucus head Rafael Rafaj.
The incident was sparked off when MPs were debating the possible cancellation of MP immunity. Taking the floor, Matovic was holding a sign saying “Gorillas, you belong in prison”.
This seemed to get Rafaj’s blood up and so after shouting at Matovic he challenged Matovic to step outside. Speaking to TV news channel TA3 afterwards, Matovic explained that once outside, the nationalist party deputy head had grabbed him by the tie, choking him. Matovic pushed him away before the security guard stepped in.
Rafaj then apologised strongly, saying his emotions had gotten the better of him. He refused to comment on the incident.
Matovic has a special talent of touching on sensitive spots, as he has already received a slap in the face from Anna Belousovova (now with her new party NAS) and had previously stepped outside to face Robert Kalinak from Smer-SD, but that didn’t come to anything.
The parliamentary vote on whether or not to cancel MP immunity for misdemeanours will take place in today’s session at 11 am, but it looks like too many of them enjoy the luxurious privilege too much to give it up.
Dave, I live in China, have a few people that I do business with and every second day I want to kick them out. Using big words: they stole from me.
This year I am going to narrow our cooperation as much as I can.
I’m trying to say: If you do business you see more dark sides of the people.
I always considered myself a complainer but after reading comments on this web site I think I’m an optimist.
See my opinion about Chinese isn’t very high and yet I have a Chinese wife and feel very highly of her.
Advise for you: Fire the guy that works for you if you feel the way you feel.
And last comment: You give people space for stealing and 90% of them will steal.
Losgar,
I accept that the spate between Rafaj and Matovic actually took place in private but the subsequent reporting of the details was broadcast worldwide – the actions of the few often colour people’s perception of the many.
In my experience most people, irrespective of nationality, have complaints about their societies. You should hear me hammering on about British politicians, law and order, crime etc !
As for salaries: the average across the group in Europe is £16,000 ( 19,200 Euros) per year plus overtime and bonuses. Slightly higher in Germany. One of your countrymen started 5 years ago on about £12,000 a year, he is now the chief electrical engineer on well over £50,000 basic pay per year.
I disagree about Matovic, he is so unpredictable and out of control he makes national politics interesting – he’s always upto something new.
Firstly, Rafaj assaults Matovic – if this is how Slovak politicians behave on camera and infront of the world press then God only knows what goes on behind closed doors. It suggests to me that the vast majority of parliamentarians sit there day after day, saying nothing, allowing the bully boys to run roughshod over procedings, because if they don’t toe the line they will get beaten up. Fortunately, some Slovaks have had enough of this but I doubt if there is enough of them to make a real difference to the political landscape after the next election.
My second point, as this comment page has become a bit of a battleground regarding the character of Slovaks in general, is this: I employed and worked alongside many Slovaks in the UK. I found them to be intelligent, well educated, dependable, honest and hard working. Marian, Eric and Losgar should note that, when I asked their fellow countrymen why they had decided to come and work in the UK the answer was nearly always the same – The corruption, crime, lack of justice, lack of job opportunity, cronyism and the general indifference of the population as a whole to problems in Slovakia had been the principle driving force behind their decision. By the way, these were not manual labourers, most were qualified engineers, plant and machine operators who wanted a better life for their families.
Whilst here in Slovakia, the majority of the nationals I have worked with have shown the same qualities as their ex-pat fellows and are a real pleasure to work with. However, like George M., I have also experienced similar problems with some Slovaks, the majority have been state or local government employees who seem to excell at being arrogant, dishonest, lazy and incompetent but some have been ordinary folk, including one of my nieghbours, who seem to think that they have the right to take or do whatever they like with little or no regard to the consequencies.
I hope we can all agree that there is good and bad in every society – I wish I had a pound for every British scroat I caught stealing or fiddling.
With regard to some of the attacks on Slovak history, every country has dark moments in its past that are best forgotten. What is more important is that we all work to ensure that history is not repeated.
And Finally – Matovic is a star, a little strange, but a star. I hope he continues to burn bright on the political scene and shame the rest of them into making decisions that benifit all of Slovakia not just their back pockets.
I agree with most of the things you wrote Dave.
This is what you are wrong about: Rafaj attacked Matovic behind the door, not in front of cameras. And both of them decided to forget about that if that wasn’t for their colleagues who gave them away.
Slovaks, if you ask them, tell you their honest opinions about anything. I myself complain a lot about SVK. From my experience English people /AUS, NZ, UK, Canada, the USA/ won’t tell you much. Which doesn’t mean that it’s really so bad in SVK nor everything is great in other countries.
How much do you pay your employees? I’m sure if you pay them decent salaries, f.e. 700-800EUR/month, you will get good workers.
I like history of SVK. It’s kind of my hobby. There is nothing we should be ashamed more then the British, Germans, Russians or Polish f.e.
About Matovic: I like his idealistic personality, I thing I share the same values as he does. But he doesn’t belong in the politics. He makes the whole situation worse. Thanks to him honest people look bad and dishonest people are laughing about that.
The corruption at the top in government filters down to the bottom feeders like even the police . Do you trust the police here Marian, with their speed traps, and instant fines etc etc ?
My own view ( is on actual working practice , not on those that bothered to report a crime, you idiot ) is based on an actual sample in my workplace and where I know three other expats have left Slovakia and set up shop in Austria and Germay because of the dishonesty, shoddy work and pure theft by the local work force .
“`I note today Nitra-based Foxconn, a Slovak branch of the Taiwanese producer of LCD television sets, has laid off 473 employees. The mass layoff, which the firm said was prompted by reduced orders, leaves it with 1,300 employees, Foxconn spokesperson Helen Windish said, as reported by the SITA newswire. “`
`Said was prompted` ….you will note . I know the senior guys that runs this shop . They got rid of 473 of the crap workers , believe me ….harsh , but fair in difficult economic times I feel . BTW .What I do in my coffee moments is none your concern, but for your information it takes me on average a minute to whip up a post and comment , not an hour to consider the state of t,he planets like a pondering , shall we, shall we not Slovak.
“Oh dear Marian , ( that`s a girls name is`nt it ??? )” – funny logic: if Marian is a female name in English speaking countries, it must be female everywhere
“how typically Slovak you are ..lets blame others, it was not never us , it was someone else that was always at fault ” – this attitude is not typical to Slovakia, its typical to people in any country who are not able to bear responsibility for their actions.
“I guess the missing ( theft) note-topsx2 , the actual stealing of mobile phones with 100 euro bills of personal calls made rather than business , Fridays and Mondays as sickie days to go skiing plain missing easy project deadlines and finally taking bribes from Suppliers ….that was all OUR fault then ???” – this is not because these people are Slovakians, its because you chose dishonest people to be your employees. There are dishonest people in every country, and it was probably your wrong choice that caused you trouble. Or is it because you attract people like those?
“Cretin” …. – no comment
“BTW. How specific do want me to be here ? Facebook logged ( cupid stunts eh ?) photo`s of them on the ski slopes in Austria, video footage of the CCTV camera that caught two of them removing laptops after hours …taped conversations made by the police of them asking for a brown envelope of euro, or the massive audited O2 phone bills of personal calls?
I used to work on the bases that people were honest until proven guilty …now if I shake hands with a Slovak , I count my fingers afterwards .” – this does not prove that all Slovakians are theves. Your view is unscientific and prejudiced. If you want to accuse all Slovakians of being dishonest, your statements should be based on crime statistics comparison to other countries. But that would mean to do some research, not just post rubbish. BTW, you must have plenty of free time to write these angry posts. You’d rather focus on something worthwhile and produce some value.
Oh Eric your SLOVAK ….well that explains everything then . Full of local myths and witches brew quotes as well . Like listening to a Soothsayer ie, `if you do this to me, then you are to blame for what happens to the world` etc ` . God , hearing all your daft excuses for being plain stupid, is like being in the office, when yet another Slovak was caught cheating me, or with his hand in my pocket .
BTW Eric. Did you go to Uni and get an Ing, Mgr or something ? Then you will of course believe you far, far superior to the rest of us on the planet…nothing worse than an Educated Slovak living in denial. Yes Slovaks also love to have an opinion Eric, normally differing to the rest us and how they stole and tunneled several millions from the State or the EU fund ( ie. you and me ) but of course this was all done in accordance to the current Law .
obviously no idea of philosophy in here George.
btw it’s not about race it’s about colors (not that hard to understand i think)
so your problem is you think we are lazy and steal stuff? Might be but won’t change a shit if you keep blaming ppl in here. Exactly it’s the other way around. The worse you behave to someone the worse he will behave to you.
I don’t mind your speeches of assaults and blame but your narrow idea of truth is really sad. There is never an absolute truth you claim to own in your head but there are always different oppinions about things and if you are not willing to accept them there is just no reason to keep writing anything in here because I don’t think I even have to explain you that noone is going to take over your point of view.
I guess to count your own balls, someone would have to sow them back on first ?
Watch out George, or one day somebody steals also your Little George.
I guess you wouldn’t mind that, would you George? 🙂
Oh dear Marian , ( that`s a girls name is`nt it ??? ) how typically Slovak you are ..lets blame others, it was not never us , it was someone else that was always at fault .
I guess the missing ( theft) note-topsx2 , the actual stealing of mobile phones with 100 euro bills of personal calls made rather than business , Fridays and Mondays as sickie days to go skiing plain missing easy project deadlines and finally taking bribes from Suppliers ….that was all OUR fault then ???
Cretin ….
BTW. How specific do want me to be here ? Facebook logged ( cupid stunts eh ?) photo`s of them on the ski slopes in Austria, video footage of the CCTV camera that caught two of them removing laptops after hours …taped conversations made by the police of them asking for a brown envelope of euro, or the massive audited O2 phone bills of personal calls?
I used to work on the bases that people were honest until proven guilty …now if I shake hands with a Slovak , I count my fingers afterwards .
You should count your balls George. And don’t blame the Slovaks if you miss one or two 🙂
“I was loosing money , as were several of my expat business friends due to the theft , ineptitude and plain laziness of the Slovaks that I was paying to do a job .”
Those who achieved nothing tend to blame others for their inability. And those who have no real arguments resort to generalisations and verbal abuse.
Moi , freaking you out Eric ? Blimmy go to the head doctor at once, if I were you .
Righteous Indignation, is the normal smug ploy of those that are brainless and live in total denial of the truth. The fact that often hits them straight in the face, like a wet fish, is lost on most of them .
I was loosing money , as were several of my expat business friends due to the theft , ineptitude and plain laziness of the Slovaks that I was paying to do a job . I guess I can have that opinion . FYI. There was no hate in my words, just facts of my and others experience …and I did say all the good workers either seemed to work for a type J&T or had their own businesses .
As for Black and White etc ….that is a description of race , like Apes etc ..so I am not sure what that has to do with the price of my latest hat ? BTW. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion, no ?
Oh Dear here we go…..
And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that.
Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.
If some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain void. Nothing in the paper today, we sigh.
All by Lord Acton
Dear funny, pretty and hardworking George M,
we all have an idea of your intelligence quotient.
Lord Acton: “There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.”
Ahaaaa , you must be a Hungarian/Slovak from the south, not a northern numbskull one ??? ..Those northern guys are all bald with big sticky out ears, huge hookie nosed and walk like penguins .
So, your not enjoying the talks ??? What are you a bicycle that can’t stand alone; and is two tired?
Btw . The M is actually for Maximas …..you know he of Gladiator .
If this is the way typical americans and europeans should behave like than who gives a shit if we’re not typical?
This attitude we see from george is neither one to be proud of nor is it open minded at all (which he obviously claims to be). spreading hatred and blame on a whole nationality is poor and it is really not our problem if you don’t get the point of our culture.
Who gave you the right to play the judge in here. sadly it doesn’t seem to be possible to say ones own oppinion on the internet without some guy putting his hatred to it. See I don’t mind about whether or not you like me or slovaks in general, nobody says you must have anything to do with us but why can’t you just let it be? I know I’m going to be told a communist or marxist or whatever but this arrogant behavior of you guy thinkin all day long about your dumb money and which sort of people you could blame for loosing some is freaking me out. Give it peace…
“Don’t say it’s black,
black doesn’t exist.
Don’t say it’s white,
white has too many parts to describe them with one word.”
Losgar , what planet are you from ? Slovaks living in Slovakia are a Lazy people, in work, in politics,in life! Better to steal few quid from your mates, than work hard to earn it .
Well said George….time the door was open on this country and its wonderful historical past, than no one wants to talk about .
I’m also an expat, living in China and complaining a lot about China and Chinese with other expats, but what you guys are doing is not even funny.
Something is seriously wrong with YOU Big Fat Butt Gay and George-who-got ripped-off.
😀
A Slovak expat unhappy in a communist, small minded and undemocratic country just like little Slovakia …now there`s novel .
The trouble is Logheadar , your Slovak crass and obnoxious humour does not transfer, even to other EU country`s . Only another dimwitted pinhead Slovaking woodcutter, would understand you . Tell me BTW, what is funny about wearing a haystack hat with straw stickin out of it, pulling a funny face ( heck Slovak men are ugly enough already, well most of them) and running around the stage with your trousers pulled down, below you knees, whilst playing some musical song ….help me out here, what`s that program on STV called ???
I am not enjoying this talks, unlike you.
Just some facts: China is still a communist county.
I was happy everywhere I lived. I guess this is called open-minded personality.
Slovak men are quite handsome. I know I am 🙂
The program on TV is called: George, George don’t be a moron /even it’s your surname/ 🙂
George you are such a liar. I’d like to hear your whole story, what happened to you that you can make up lies like those. Slovaks are actually very hardworking. I’d say just the same as the Polish are f.e..
I lived and worked all around the world and who knows any central/eastern Europiens knows what I’m talking about.
About the history stuff: Slovaks done also some terrible things in the past that nobody is proud about.
Stefan, Rather like the foot shifting and hand wringing of the Austrians and past history of `the final solution to the Jewish problem` .
Sadly, my experience of Slovak men that have worked for me in particular, is terrible . If I was the only one, then I would pass it on as my bad luck , but I have friends that have the same experience . If it is not bolted down or locked, it will be stolen by a Slovak. They are all work shy.
As for justice and Gorila ……dream on old chap , this after all is Slovakia!
The problem is George, Slovaks dont like to hear or see the truth….. but you summed them up quite well mate !! 🙂 here, here……
Peter & Matej…. sort yourselfs out and your families and stop playing like Europeans.. and one day you might become like normal Europeans!!
Buying a Tommy Hilfiger T-Shirt doesnt put you out there guys and make you a European or American!!!
Lets hope everyone here dirty gets what they deserve 🙂 good on Gorila
Oh Peter , did I miss the bit where the Slovaks paid, yes paid the Nazi`s to send 50,000 fellow Slovaks to the gas chambers ….
Your’re clown man!
~…So are you George, so are you.~
What are you Matej, one of those nodding puppet dogs in the back of a car ?
I look at Slovaks a bit like the Italians , without the culture and the fine wine food of course …Ready to surrender before they even get into a fight . You groveled under the Hungarians for a century, supported the Nazi party, then joined the Russian communists , when the storm troupers were loosing and of course lets all celebrate each year with a Public holiday, the SK National Uprising , where a General hoofed it out the country for safety rather than lead his men into battle and your own army, got lost in their own Tatra mountains to be finally slaughtered by the Germans …
Other than steal from each other and charge charge expats , `three times the price` ….name me one good thing about Slovak men ?
Ed. Note: “The parliamentary vote… to cancel MP immunity… will take place in today’s session.., but it looks like too many of them enjoy the luxurious privilege too much to give it up.”
Caught up in the Slovak bashing a bit, no? 147 of them seemed willing to let it go….
…So are you George, so are you.
Rafaj …… what the walking pinhead , with the Hitler tash who claimed he did not sign Slota in to Parliament, when the drunk was not even there ?????
Matovic pushed him away ?? Give the walking pigmy a Glaswegian Kiss man !
….God these Slovaks are such whimps …