Slovak Government Holds Away Session in Levoča, Distributes €2.5 Million for Local Projects

The Slovak government held an away cabinet session — a periodic practice where the full cabinet convenes outside Bratislava to engage with local communities — during which it distributed €2.5 million in funding for municipal projects across the region. Among the projects approved was funding for a lift to assist mobility-impaired pilgrims at the Pilgrimage House on Mariánska hora, a prominent Catholic pilgrimage site in the eastern Slovak town of Levoča. The session was not without controversy. Protesters gathered near the event, but their demonstration was obscured from view when a van was positioned to block them from sight. Prime Minister Robert Fico, a leader of Smer-SD, the ruling left-nationalist party, waved to supporters who had come to greet him, underscoring the political theater that often accompanies such away sessions, which critics argue serve as government publicity exercises in addition to their administrative purpose. Away cabinet sessions have become a recurring feature of Fico's governing style, allowing the administration to visibly engage with local concerns while announcing targeted regional spending. The decision to fund accessibility improvements at Mariánska hora — one of Slovakia's most visited religious sites, drawing tens of thousands of pilgrims annually — reflects the government's attempts to appeal to Catholic communities in traditionally conservative eastern Slovakia.