Slovak Govt Plenipotentiary for Romani Communities tells PM to either fire him or let him do his job

News server Topky.sk reports that Ábel Ravasz (Most-Híd), the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Romani Communities, has called on Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) to either trust him to do his job or to dismiss him from office. He made the statement in a status update on social media responding to the PM’s recent remarks.

During a press briefing at the Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic, the PM said MEP Peter Pollák (OĽaNO), whom he has recently appointed to the Central Crisis Team of the Slovak Republic, is ten times more informed about issues in Romani communities than Ravasz is. He made it clear that he is no longer counting on Ravasz attending Crisis Team meetings.

“Don’t force somebody on us because he holds an appointment today. In this state many people have held functions and been absolutely incompetent in those jobs. We see the condition in which we have been discussing this state,” the PM said at the press conference in association with staffing the Central Crisis Team, which is meant to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the PM, Ravasz does not comprehend the problems in Romani communities the way Pollák, who comes from the community, does. “Igor Matovič accused me publicly today of not comprehending the subject of the Romani communities, especially because I am not Romani. This is just one day after Peter Pollák announced to me, after a constructive working session, that for the time being they do want to collaborate with me,” the current Plenipotentiary posted to social networks.

Ravasz then called on the PM to either trust him or remove him from the appointment. “I do not intend to respond to such attacks now, this is a time of crisis, not a campaign. My results and expertise can be assessed by anybody who knows the subject. He can ask any of them,” the Plenipotentiary said.