Slovakia isn't in bad shape, said President Andrej Kiska at the 'TOP Manazment 2015' conference organised by Trend weekly in Bratislava on Tuesday. According to Kiska, there are optimists who say that the country is doing great, the economy is growing, unemployment is falling, and the state budget and deficit are under control. On the other hand, there are pessimists who think that things aren't going so well and that some neighbouring countries are doing better, for example. "I personally really think that our country isn't in bad shape", stressed Kiska. That's the good news, he said, but then comes the bad news. "Which is, in my opinion, that we don't have priorities", said Kiska. According to him, the country doesn't know what to focus on. It isn't clearly said what needs to be achieved and where the country wants to go. Kiska said that this is the right time to set such priorities in order to help the country to overcome crises. "There have been some crises in the past that we've overcome, and it's clear to everyone that the next one will come, but nobody knows when, what will be the cause and how strong it will be. But another crisis will certainly come", said Kiska.
According to Kiska, this is a task for everyone. Politicians and managers should consider now what to do and in what to invest so that we can say we are ready when the crisis comes. And the time to consider is here and now, when election programmes are being discussed by political parties. In Kiska's opinion, the thing that decides a country's direction is education. Kiska said that there has been a reduction in respect for education in Slovakia, and young people don't want to become teachers. He stated that Slovakia should set education as its priority. "If we don't set education as our priority, if we don't get quality people in education, we won't have quality education", said Kiska.
