In politics, HLAS-SD MP Igor Šimko has been involved indirectly for twenty years, spending thirteen of them in the National Council, where he has been an MP for the past two. Alongside his parliamentary work, he is strongly engaged on behalf of his home region of Košice. In fact, even on Facebook, he proudly lists his profile name as “HLAS (Voice) of the East.”
On Facebook and elsewhere you devote a lot of attention to Košice and eastern Slovakia. Next year Slovakia will hold regional elections. Are you considering running for regional office? And what troubles the Košice Region most?
My personal ambitions are not the issue of the day. From the very first day of my election to the National Council, I have been meeting people not only in Košice but throughout the Košice Region. What troubles them is that millions of their euros are spent on offices and officials in the city (550 at city hall, 450 in boroughs); that a handful of privileged municipalities receive regional subsidies while the rest are left out; and that construction tenders have been funneled to the same few firms for years. People mock the arrogance of the regional leadership, while road “repairs” resemble Potemkin reconstructions – poorly laid asphalt crumbles within two years, but the fixes are still touted before elections as the best the region can offer. Dozens of bridges are in critical condition simply because the governor spends more on PR, which is starting to resemble that of the American president, than on maintenance. Add to that two indictments and a steady stream of new prosecutions and scandals, and it’s a sad picture of the governor’s looting of the region.
Together with fellow MP Andrej Sitkár, you recently submitted an amendment to the law on the city of Košice, which among other things would increase the number of city councilors by ten. Critics say this would add significant costs at a time when money should be saved. How do you respond?
When I became an MP, I promised Košice residents – and myself – that I would complete the long-delayed reform of Košice. Today, 8.7 million EUR is spent annually on the bloated bureaucracy of Košice’s 22 boroughs (Bratislava has 17). We have prepared an amendment that would reduce the coefficient for councilor compensation, saving about 30,000 EUR annually – Košice councilors currently earn 400 EUR more than those in Bratislava. The overall Košice model, including the number of local councilors, deputy mayors, and other key measures, is now under review at the Ministry of Interior. It has gone through the city assembly, the city council, the mayors’ council, and city leadership – some support it, others don’t. For 20 years they couldn’t agree – no one willingly gives up their own turf. After broad discussion, parliament will decide. Democracy will be preserved, and the five-year implementation process will avoid extra costs like severance pay, which today would exceed current operating costs.
In August you, along with other MPs, submitted a bill on damaging military memorials, graves, and cultural monuments. What prompted that? Is it really such a problem in Slovakia?
Ten years ago in Ukraine, the conflict started when groups poured paint on monuments. It split the population, and today there’s a war along ethnic and territorial lines – I’m convinced it also has psychological roots. Something similar is happening in Slovakia. On one side are those who hate Russia and resent that we commemorate May 8 as Victory Day, because Russians won the war in Europe. On the other are people – including various biker groups – who honor fallen heroes and their ancestors, and who may react strongly if provoked. When these two camps clash over such historical issues, and when someone damages the memorials of those who died for our freedom and the shape of our state today, major incidents and escsalation can end up taking place. I was the first politician to visit Dargov Pass this winter, where a war burial site and monument were defaced with yellow-blue paint and swastikas. That’s when I said enough – we must act to prevent clashes in the streets. Every burial site deserves respect, especially one from times of war where those who never came home are buried. Together with coalition MPs, I initiated an amendment to the Criminal Code so that such acts would be punished with prison. It must be exemplary so vandals think twice.
Košice Region borders Ukraine directly. Are you concerned that you could suddenly be bordering Russia, or does it not worry you?
I’m at the border almost every week, in the districts of Sobrance and Michalovce, among the people there, and life is peaceful and more human than in western Slovakia. I don’t think Russia finds anything attractive in western Ukraine – it lacks essential resources and NATO’s proximity would bring political and financial risks. What concerns me more is what happens once the war ends. For Slovakia, the most important thing will be ensuring our companies can participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction. No one talks about it today, but beyond human lives, the environment is devastated too – thousands of tons of chemicals, mostly heavy metals released by bombs, are accumulating in the environment and could be a problem for decades. Peace is the goal – that’s what matters most.
Many Czechs see “Easterners” as a kind of special breed of Slovaks. Is there truth to that?
Easterners have to go far from home to succeed, so they learn to be more assertive – when they reach Bratislava, they are driven and determined, which is why they are succeeding today. On the other hand, no one gives more than those who have less. When you come to eastern Slovakia, you’ll always be welcomed, people will take a genuine interest in you, and they won’t slam the door in your face. The East is warm-hearted, and people expect nothing in return. If you help an Easterner, they’ll repay you twice over. And we have great traditional food, excellent local wines, and homemade spirits. [laughs] And when it comes to driven and successful people – take Richard Raši, a Košice native, doctor by training, five-time MP, twice a minister, twice mayor, and today Speaker of the National Council, the country’s second-highest official. I learned a lot from him during the 15 years I worked with him.
CV BOX
Igor Šimko (born July 8, 1988) is a Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for HLAS-SD.
He graduated from the BERG Faculty of the Technical University of Košice (earning MSc and PhD titles) and later obtained an MBA from the European School of Business and Management in Prague.
He was a member of the BERG Faculty’s scientific council, but since 2012 he has worked in the National Council – first as an MP’s assistant, later as an advisor. By his own words, he has been involved in politics indirectly since 2005, when he “helped those who are at the very top today.”
He was elected MP for HLAS-SD in 2023. He chairs the Commission for Energy and is also a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and the Committee on Agriculture and the Environment.
He enjoys traveling, is married, and has an eight-year-old son with his wife Zuzana.
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