BRATISLAVA, November 23, (WEBNOVINY) – Former Minister of Culture Marek Madaric (opposition Smer-SD) asked the incumbent Minister Daniel Krajcer (SaS) to resign. The reason is the proposed Ministry of Culture 2011 budget chapter, which on Tuesday Krajcer presented to the members of Parliamentary Culture and Media Committee. “When he characterizes the budget as one which should paralyze Slovak culture, I think he should resign,” Madaric said.
“After reading it… I have to admit I have never seen anything similar in my twelve years in the Parliament,” added Committee Chairman Dusan Jarjabek (Smer-SD). “You are formally criticizing your own budget,” he noted. The reason are several critical statements in the Ministry of Culture report on the budget, according to which the activity of state organizations will be suppressed and the reduced spending will have a negative influence on state-funded culture. “Don’t let the Finance Minister make fun of you and rather resign,” Jarjabek proposed to Krajcer. He thinks that the report of the Ministry on the proposed budget looks like a “critical opposition assessment of an incapable Culture Minister by a Shadow Cabinet minister.”
“Even though the limits set were critical for us, we managed to defend more than twenty million euro at the negotiations with the Ministry of Finance,” said Krajcer, refusing being a subordinate to the Minister of Finance Ivan Miklos. As he informed, he managed to negotiate four million euro for the Slovak Radio contract with the state, ten million euro for the contract with Slovak Television, 3.6 million euro for priority projects and four million for completing the reconstruction of the Reduta building.
According to Krajcer the Ministry of Culture under the lead of Marek Madaric overestimated its incomes by six million euro, which remains a problem until now. Krajcer is concerned that the previous budget was not estimated properly. The Minister suggested that Madaric should resign on his membership in the Committee. Tomas Galbavy (SDKU-DS) thinks that the statements of opposition MPs are not fair, as the budget chapter of the Ministry of Culture was always among those less interesting. Galbavy added that the previous government spent maybe even less funds on culture; however they managed to put it down elegantly and present it as being at the benefit of everyone.
The Committee adopted no position towards the proposed budget. Coalition deputies left the session before the voting took place, causing the Committee not have the quorum needed to vote.
SITA