Slovak Parliament Speaker Richard Raši Rejects SNS Plan to Revoke State Honors

Speaker of the Slovak National Council Richard Raši said the parliament already has legal tools to address any future cases that might justify stripping a state decoration, and questioned why a new law was needed. He criticised the Slovak National Party’s (SNS) proposal to give the legislature the power to revoke state honors, calling the initiative “light‑hearted and political” and noting it was presented without prior coalition discussion.

Raši pointed to the recent Polish precedent where President Karol Nawrocki withdrew a high state award from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Zelenskyy named a Ukrainian unit after the historic UPA. SNS cited that case to argue Zelenskyy’s award should be cancelled, invoking the UPA’s criminal history and victims, including Slovaks. Raši emphasized that state honors are the highest recognition granted by constitutional officials and should not be handled frivolously.