The nationalist government in Slovakia presented a new version of the national anthem on Wednesday evening, a project aimed at “strengthening national pride”, but which has drawn criticism over its cost and legitimacy.
“For the first time the new arrangement was played” at the Bratislava Philharmonic, on the occasion of the New Year’s concert, far-right Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova wrote on Facebook on Thursday, saying she had “felt chills in my soul and in my flesh. She unveiled this project in October “after 32 years” without change. “It became reality because we care about strengthening the feeling of national pride,” the official explained at the time.
At the initiative of the operation, the composer and conductor Oskar Rozsa, who revised neither the melody nor the lyrics, but reworked the musical arrangement.
The anthem begins with an instrumental bar, as in the Russian anthem, and ends with sounds of the fujara flute, a traditional Slovak instrument. For this, Oskar Rozsa received remuneration of 46,500 euros, according to a document consulted by AFP, enough to arouse criticism in times of austerity, the approach remaining misunderstood by many.
Comments swept aside by Martina Simkovicova. “Journalists are worried about where we got the money and how much it cost. However, the hundreds of thousands of euros allocated to the Pride March did not bother them,” she said.
-Appointed in October 2023 by Prime Minister Robert Fico, this former television presenter, with conspiratorial, homophobic and pro-Russian comments, continues to cause scandal, between the dismissal of directors of renowned institutions and the end of aid to LGBT+ associations.
The personality of Oskar Rozsa was also debated when he appeared in November alongside a figure prosecuted for anti-Semitic statements. To his detractors, he retorted that the new version of the anthem was not intended for them.
In opposition, the leader of the Slovak Progressive Party (PS) Michal Simecka castigated “an unacceptable degradation of a national symbol”. “For the very essence of the anthem is precisely that it belongs to us all.” Several groups have also denounced the method, this revised anthem not having been approved by a parliamentary committee.
