| Ján Slota | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Slovak National Council until December 31, 1992 |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 4, 2006 |
|
| In office June 25, 1992 – October 15, 2002 |
|
| Mayor of the city of Žilina | |
| In office 1990–2006 |
|
| Preceded by | office created |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Harman |
| Member of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office June 23, 1990 – June 25, 1992 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 14, 1953 Lietavská Lúčka, Czechoslovakia |
| Political party | Slovak National Party |
Ján Slota (born September 14, 1953 in Lietavská Lúčka) is the co-founder and President of the Slovak National Party,[1][2] an extremist[3][4][5][6] nationalist party.[7] Slota as the leader of SNS entered into a coalition with Robert Fico's Smer in 2006. He was the mayor of the town of Žilina from 1990 to 2006.
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Slota became involved in politics after 1989 when the Communist party fell from power in Czechoslovakia in the Velvet Revolution. In 1990 he co-founded the SNS and was elected as a member of the Federal Assembly. Later, he was elected into the National Council of the Slovak Republic. From 1994 to 1999 he served as the leader of the SNS. After an internal crisis in the SNS in 2001, he left the party and set up his own party, the Genuine Slovak National Party. As a result of this split, none of the nationalist parties received the required 5% minimum of votes in the 2002 election. In 2003, the nationalist parties merged again, after heavy quarrels, with Slota as chairman.[8]
Slota served as the mayor of Žilina between 1990 and 2006, overseeing the modernization of the city. He was reelected in 1994, 1998 and 2002. He was succeeded by Ivan Harman in 2006.
In the 2006 parliamentary election, Slota became an MP and his SNS joined the ruling coalition with Robert Fico's Direction - Social Democracy party and Vladimír Mečiar´s People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia.
Slota is frequently criticized for arrogance, nationalism,[9] and extremism[10] and being "a xenophobic politician who has stirred anti-Hungarian sentiments."[11] The Slovak Spectator reports that most of the media attention Slota receives is because of statements that cross "the line not just of political but also human decency."[12] Slota says he is protecting Slovaks, especially those living in southern Slovakia. According to Der Spiegel Slota said the best policy for dealing with the Roma was "a long whip in a small yard."[1][2] According to him: "70 percent of the Roma are criminals."[13] He is quoted as saying "we will get into our tanks and level Budapest"[2] and questioned whether homosexuals were normal people.[14] After this statement, a map was published on the official SNS webpage showing Hungary as a part of Slovakia.[15][16][17] He also said about Hungarians that "Even in 1248 a Frankish bishop was amazed after visiting the Carpathian Basin that God could have given such a beautiful country to such ugly people. He was referring to the old Hungarians, who were Mongoloid types with crooked legs and even more disgusting horses. Somehow these people have vanished. Who civilized them? Probably us, the Slovaks". He is also quoted as saying that Slavic blood had civilised the ugly, Mongolic Hungarians[2] and associated homosexuals with pedophiles.[18] He believes 200 members of the Hungarian intelligence are spying in Slovakia.[19] Slota said that the country's ethnic Hungarian minority "is a tumour in the body of the Slovak nation."[20][21] While Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico were meeting in Brussels, he called the Turul, a Hungarian mythological falcon an "ugly parrot",[22] and insulted the first Hungarian king (Stephen I of Hungary) by calling him a "clown on a horse" (he was referring to the statue of king Stephen I which is standing in the Buda Castle).
Slota called the fascist leader Jozef Tiso "one of the greatest sons of the Slovak nation"[23] and on February 17, 2000, 40 of the 41 city council members in Žilina, where Slota is mayor, voted to dedicate a plaque honoring Tiso.[23]
Slota had illegally emigrated to Austria in 1971, where he participated in multiple auto thefts, until he fled Austria fearing prosecution.[24] He went back to Czechoslovakia, where he committed some store robberies in the Prievidza region[24] before fleeing the country. After returning, his father, Milan, voluntarily entered the Czechoslovak communist secret police, the StB to save his son from prison.[25][26][27][28]
In 1982 Slota worked in the Nováky Power Plant, where during the demolition of a wooden cooling tower he gave the order to burn it down. The flames reached 70 meters and the wind blew the cinders as far away as 500 meters.[29] Slota was convicted of arson and sentenced to one year in prison, and suspended for two years. Documents detailing Slota's criminal past were broadcast by Markíza, the leading private television station in Slovakia, which resulted in a court case Markíza v Slota.[30][31][32] During the court proceedings Slota admitted to some of the crimes and even said he was proud of assaulting and beating a Hungarian saying "I am proud of giving that Hungarian a black eye" (Slovak: Na to, že som tomu Maďarovi urobil monokel, som tiež hrdý.)[33][34][35]
Since his party returned to the parliament in 2006, Slota has rarely been seen at parliamentary sessions. The Slovak daily SME has revealed that his signature on the parliamentary attendance sheets was forged by his fellow party member Rafael Rafaj.[36] When confronted with this charge, both of them have denied it.[37]
Slota supposedly reported a total yearly income of 311 400 SKK[38] (about €10,000 or US$14,000) in his 2006 annual tax return, however he himself supposedly confirmed that he had bought a Bentley Continental GT[39][40] for 2.6 million SKK in that year.[39] In his ATR he also supposedly confessed that he has a luxury villa[39] on the Croatian riviera[39] as well as a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S[41] "lent to him by one of his friends for his personal use".[41]