Three years after being elected to the National Council, Matúš Šutaj Eštok was appointed minister of the interior in 2023 and a year later elected chairman of HLAS-SD. Both came during a period of growing tension in both politics and society.
In September, the National Council will vote again on a constitutional amendment. Is HLAS-SD united on this issue? In June, Ján Ferenčák opposed the amendment. Since then, he’s lost his leadership role in the party, but remains an MP. Which part of the amendment is most important to you?
The proposed constitutional amendment, which will be voted on in September, includes our proposal to enshrine equal pay for men and women. You know, I’m a social democrat, and maybe that’s old-fashioned nowadays, but I believe there are only two genders: male and female. At the same time, from the very beginning of talks on amending this highest law, we made it clear – if we are to include a sentence in the Constitution about genders, then it must also guarantee that men and women are paid equally. No woman will benefit from seeing “man and woman” in the Constitution if she’s earning 15–20 percent less than her male colleague. If Mr. Ferenčák has a problem with that, let him explain it to the people in his town, where he’s mayor. For us in HLAS, electoral reform has long been an important topic – to ensure a fairer system for the various regions of Slovakia. There are stark regional differences in this country, and that’s not helped by the fact that the fate of the whole country is often decided in parliament mostly by MPs from Bratislava. But to even begin a meaningful discussion on electoral reform, we first need to remove a sentence from the Constitution that Matovič inserted artificially out of fear of the people. I stress that deleting this sentence would change absolutely nothing for people in the first step – it would only allow room to discuss possible changes. For now, our proposal to remove it didn’t receive enough support in parliament, despite polling showing that most voters across the political spectrum support such a move. But it remains an important issue for us, and we’ll keep raising it.
At the June party congress, new members of the party leadership were elected – one year after you took over from Peter Pellegrini. What has changed in the party over the past year?
A lot has happened in the past year since I became party chairman, but the leadership elections weren’t about that. Part of the leadership was elected at last year’s congress; the other part’s term just expired, so we followed our statutes and held a new vote. The current leadership includes people I know will put the country’s interests first, then the party’s, and only then their own personal ambitions. We are a strong team for a strong Slovakia, determined to work so that life improves, even just a little, in every corner of the country.
In Slovakia – as well as in Czechia – political rhetoric has grown harsher in recent years. Society seems more divided, even aggressively so. Do you think society is being influenced by politicians, or are politicians more influenced by the public mood?
You’re right – I see it the same way. It’s sad that we’ve reached the point where even relatives stop talking to each other because of politics. Yes, politicians bear some responsibility for that with their statements. But we also have to look at how quickly information spreads today. Rash remarks and extreme opinions have always existed in politics. What’s new in recent years is the impact of social media and modern media – any message can reach people within minutes, and algorithms often feed users content that intensifies radicalization. That’s why we politicians must be that much more aware of the responsibility and potential impact of our behavior. In HLAS, we refuse to pursue politics that polarizes society. We don’t fan the flames of culture-war issues, create artificial divisions, or make things difficult for people. Our ministers work hard and deliver real results – they don’t waste time on proxy topics. You won’t find a single bill we introduced that divided society or had a negative impact on people’s lives. Such a law simply doesn’t exist.
You’re a clear supporter of Slovakia’s continued membership in the EU and NATO. On NATO – there’s now a commitment for member states to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP within ten years. Is that feasible for Slovakia? And where should the money go?
Let me start by saying this: any debate about Slovakia leaving the EU or NATO is where we draw the line. But this also ties into your previous question about polarizing society. One of our coalition partners made a controversial statement that reverberated in the media, suggesting that neutrality might suit Slovakia. But neutrality doesn’t mean “I’m staying out of the conflict” – it means “I’m defenseless and at the mercy of others.” This is another example of a proxy topic that we not only reject but consider dangerous to even raise. As for defense spending – before the NATO summit, I said on behalf of HLAS that such spending must not come at the expense of people’s social standards. That stance has not changed. Given the need to consolidate public finances, we cannot already start increasing defense spending next year – and we certainly cannot do so abruptly. I’m glad Slovakia managed to negotiate a longer timeline for this. We must look at each member state individually. For Slovakia, it’s essential that defense spending go toward dual-use projects – things that can serve the public in peacetime, but also be used by the military in case of war. For example, many of our country’s bridges are in a state of disrepair. Before we go buying tanks, we need to repair those bridges – because without safe, functioning infrastructure, not only our own troops but also those of our allies won’t get very far.
A major recruitment campaign has recently taken place to increase police numbers. Has it been effective?
I inherited the Ministry of the Interior in terrible shape. Under previous governments, the police acted on political orders, often illegally. That’s over – I ended the war within the police force. We also stopped illegal migration and chaos at the borders, despite former Prime Minister Ódor saying we just had to get used to it – that it was the “new normal.” I reject the idea that anyone in Slovakia should have to get used to decreased safety. The police force currently lacks nearly 4,000 officers. This shortage has persisted for ten years and got significantly worse over the past three and a half. Our top priority now is recruitment. That’s why we’ve introduced measures like a recruitment bonus of up to 5,000 EUR, housing support, and even interest-free loans. We’ve also adjusted physical fitness tests so that they remain challenging but don’t discourage capable candidates. You can’t solve a police shortage overnight – but these smart measures, combined with the recruitment campaign, are starting to produce results. In just three months, we received 4,635 online applications – more than in all of 2024, when fewer than 4,500 people applied. The campaign reached a broad range of applicants, including members of other security forces who often have extensive experience and hold officer-level ranks. That’s why every application is being reviewed individually by my ministry colleagues.
CV BOX
Matúš Šutaj Eštok (born February 4, 1987, in Budkovce) is Slovakia’s minister of the interior and chairman of the HLAS-SD party.
He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava and then worked for two years as a legal advisor in the university rector’s office.
In the following years, he held various positions at the Administration of State Material Reserves, the Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. From 2018, he served as head of the Office of the Government.
In 2020, he was elected as a member of the National Council, and three years later appointed minister of the interior. He was elected chairman of the HLAS-SD party in June 2024.
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