People first – that is the motto of Igor Šimko, a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for HLAS-SD, who will run for President of the Košice Region this autumn. As part of the I Listen to You project, he has listened to thousands of requests from people in his home region and, if elected to his new position, he wants to fulfil them. He has his own personal key to achieving this. “Self-discipline,” he says. “Anyone who cannot manage themselves cannot manage a region either. The first thing I set myself was to lose weight – and I managed to lose sixteen kilos.”
You have set yourself quite a few tasks in your election programme. Which will be the first if you are elected?
I am absolutely clear about that. First, I will restore cooperation within the region, as well as relations between the region and the state. I will personally visit every ministry in Bratislava, as well as district towns and regional authorities and begin cooperating wherever the region has failed to do so until now. The regional president should be a manager who brings people together – and should lobby for their region wherever necessary, even when personal pride might get in the way. Second, I will bring the regional authority closer to the people. I will establish a contact system for the needs of municipalities and residents, as well as a Ready Municipality Fund, because many ordinary municipalities today cannot even afford project documentation, without which it will never gain access to EU funds. Third, I will analyse the region’s finances. I will stop inefficient spending and reverse the investment ratio to 70:30 in favour of the regions – today it is exactly the opposite. People should see results, not statements.
Promoting interests for the benefit of specific people and projects is not exactly easy in the political arena. What is your recipe for success?
I have been in politics long enough to know how to achieve a goal even when different interests conflict. I am a natural mediator and negotiator. For example, when I criticised the fact that there was not a single emergency pharmacy in the entire Košice Region, I did not stop at criticism – I brought the hospital management and the ministry together at one table, and today Košice has a 24-hour pharmacy as a result.
What does a politician today actually need to avoid being crushed by the whole machinery?
Self-discipline and a solid support system. A manager who does not set high standards for themselves cannot set high standards for others. For example, when I was deciding whether to enter the race for President of the Košice Region, the first thing I set myself was to lose weight – I managed to lose sixteen kilos, and regular exercise is now the foundation of my self-discipline. Anyone who cannot manage themselves cannot manage a region either. The second anchor is my family – my wife and son are my moral compass and one of the reasons why I am doing all this. We have lived in the Košice Region all our lives, and I would like my son, along with others, to remain here in the future as well. And the third is my profession – I am a court-appointed expert and a certified European energy manager, so I have a profession I can return to at any time. A politician who has nothing to return to starts to fear life without office – and that is when the machinery crushes them.
What annoys you most about the current Slovak political scene?
The constant, often senseless attacks. A culture in which anyone who sees things differently is seen as the enemy. The easiest thing in the world is to criticise, and the hardest is to take responsibility and solve the problem. And the second issue is related to that – marketing instead of results. Press conferences, visualisations and ribbon-cutting instead of repaired roads, schools and care homes for seniors. Politics should be measured by what it leaves behind for people, not by the number of statements. That is why I have set myself one simple rule, which I have also signed in writing for people in regional agreements: deliver results.
If you were introducing the Košice Region to someone, how would you describe it?
As a region that has everything Europe is looking for in miniature. A metropolis with universities, a strong IT sector and a supercomputer at the Technical University. The new Volvo car plant, which represents an opportunity the east has not had for decades. World-famous Tokaj with its vineyards, Slovak Paradise, the Zemplínska Šírava reservoir, and Gemer with its enormous cultural heritage. Beneath our feet, geothermal energy that could heat Košice, and just on our doorstep, the border with Ukraine – the east could become a gateway to Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. And above all, the people: hard-working, warm-hearted and modest – even more modest than they deserve to be. That is also the paradox of my region: it has enormous potential, yet it has stagnated for years. That is exactly why I am running – so that a region of great possibilities can finally become a region of great results. A region shaped by the people who live in it.
Do you also have any favourite places there that you like to return to and where you recharge your batteries?
I draw energy primarily from nature – hiking, cycling and mushroom picking are the best ways for me to clear my head. Nature has one wonderful quality – it does not care what position you hold, and it always clears your head. I have probably seen all the beautiful places in the Košice Region by now and have grown fond of every one of them, from Vihorlat through the Slanské Hills to Slovak Paradise. I am also close to nature professionally, as I have been involved in environmental protection all my life, so my passion and my work have happily come together. Then there is cooking, which I inherited from my father, who is an excellent cook. And, of course, sport – regular exercise is both discipline and an outlet for me. But my family gives me the most energy of all. Time with my wife and son is something that nothing can replace.
The author is a staff writer for Deník
CV BOX
Igor Šimko (born 8 July 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 degrees) 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. In 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 an 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.
reklama
