Jan Slota, who defended his grip over nationalist party SNS party after being re-elected as party chairman, says being chairman of the SNS is neither a joy nor a privilege. He got 180 of the 271 votes.
He was speaking on discussion programme ‘O 5 Minut 12’ on STV yesterday, where he said: “Everybody is always taking shots at you, and not just at me personally, but also at the party”.
Slota rejected the claims of ousted first vice-chairwoman Anna Belousovova that the voting had been manipulated by Slota. In response to Belousovova’s decision to stay in the party (although analysts believe she will leave in the end), Slota said he was glad she was staying and that it is the obligation of all SNS members to promote the party’s goals.
These goals include putting increasing pressure on the government to focus more on generating employment and increasing the living standard in the country.
Slota did not neglect to mention his disappointment that the Most-Hid party (with strong Hungarian ethnic support) was in the ruling coalition, saying: “It is very unfortunate that Hungarians got into government again”. He thinks the party’s image as a Slovak-Hungarian party is a fairytale, and that the Hungarians hold all the posts “where big money is divided up”. What he meant by the last statement is unclear.
Referring to the district heads who had nominated him, Slota said: “They were terrified by the idea that someone else, maybe in a skirt, would occupy the chair of party leader”. Anna Belousovova was replaced in the post of first vice-chair by Andrej Danko, with Rafael Rafaj, Peter Petko and Jan Ikrenyi voted in as vice-chairs.