On Wednesday, the departing President Ivan Gašparovič gave his last report on the state of the Republic in Parliament. It lasted some 40 minutes and in it Gašparovič addressed the high unemployment in the country and the role of traditional family.
Moreover, he criticized corruption, which he said is undermining the trust of people in democratic institutions, harming the economy and biting into state revenues and he also pointed to the alarmingly low trust of the public in the courts. The political situation in Slovakia, according to Gašparovič, contributes to stability, cooperation between neighbours and dialogue within central Europe. He called the times since 2004 as the most successful in the country's modern history. The persistent unemployment rate and divisions in society - in terms of wealth, access to education, employment and information are the key problems plaguing Slovakia, according to the outgoing President. Gašparovič wished the incoming president Andrej Kiska good health and success in his work. Kiska is to be sworn in this Sunday, 15th June.
Opposition MPs were largely unimpressed by the speech of outgoing President Gašparovič in Parliament. "Gašparovič continues to have this perspective of the current times as if he were 25-30 years back in time. This really can't move society ahead, let alone create pressure to actually solve problems," stated Opposition SDKU MP Ľudovít Kaník. Most-Hid MP Zsolt Simon was outraged by the president’s critique of the state of the judiciary, as he claims Gašparovič is partly accountable for it. Freedom and Solidarity MP Martin Poliačik believes that the outgoing President was in poor contact with reality. “The president fails to understand how young people in Slovakia think and what they do," stated Poliačik. Prime Minister Robert Fico, on the other hand, claims that there aren't many politicians in Slovakia that would be as experienced as President Ivan Gašparovič.
