On Monday, 1 January 2018 President Andrej Kiska made a New Year’s Address on RTVS.

“A pleasant festive afternoon to all of you, dear fellow citizens.”

This is a nice tradition, and for me it is a great honor to speak to you again as the President on the first day of the New Year, wishing the best for you and our entire country; stating a few thoughts I consider important. I believe that you will accept them with understanding; You, who are spending today’s holiday with your loved ones; you, who are also at work today caring about our health, our safety and the comfort during the holiday. I sincerely wish all of you much health, love, understanding, peace of mind and inner strength for the New Year.

I wish you a year full of pleasure from small, everyday successes, and the joy of overcoming the great challenges of life. I wish you many good decisions that will fill your day with happiness.

The first day of the New Year is our national holiday. 25 years ago an independent Slovak Republic was established. A democratic state we can be proud of — thanks to the courage to change things, thanks to the common efforts of many people, thanks to the good decisions in moments that were decisive for our common future.

From a humanly exhausted, economically destroyed, unpopular open-air museum that emerged from behind the Iron Curtain on the map of the free world, we have transformed Slovakia into an open, modern and viable country. We have transformed it into a country that has been able to exploit the unique potential of European integration to become a strong part of the safest, most free, prosperous, and best-managed part of the world.

The story of the Slovak Republic in the last 25 years till today has not been perfect. It has not been at all simple. It has never been straightforward and predetermined. There has not been always good moments and good news in every circumstance.

But it has been a powerful story. I am proud to congratulate you today as President of the Slovak Republic on this holiday.

Present-day Slovakia is a testimony about the generation of citizens of a democratic country, who have been able to solve common problems and face common challenges step-by-step. Thanks to this effort, on 1 January 2018, the Slovak Republic is a better place to live in for most people than it was on 1 January 1993. In a world full of uncertainty, violence and armed conflicts, religious and racial hatred, autocratic regimes with contempt for the lives of their own citizens, that is not a matter of course.

We did not achieve this thanks to a happy coincidence of circumstances. This suc-cessful story did not even come about automatically, and the Slovak Republic did not have it included in its birth certificate. We were convinced of it in the first years after the emergence of the new republic, when the political leaders betrayed the ideals of a democratic country and a legal state, which it committed itself to honoring and developing. By the way, in 2018, it will be exactly twenty years since we defeated Mečiarism in the parliamentary elections.

When I talk about significant anniversaries, this year will offer several opportunities to remember the most important dates in modern Slovak history. These are historical events that have had both a good and bad influence on how our country looks and how we live in it.

In 2018, we are celebrating the centenary of our common state along with our friends and neighbors in the Czech Republic. It brought democracy, freedom, respect for civil rights, as well as unprecedented economic, social, educational and cultural development to Slovakia.
A totalitarian regime came into power 70 years ago. For four decades, Czechoslo-vakia was humiliated to a satellite subjected to interests of Soviet power. Even though Slovakia experienced some progress in this period, the price behind it was a gross restriction on freedom and human dignity.

In August, it will be 50 years since the tanks of the Warsaw Pact troops destroyed the desire of people for life in a more just and free society for the next two decades. 30 years ago, the faithful stood against the Communist regime to demand religious freedom and full respect for civil rights at the Candle Demonstration.

In the following weeks and months, there will be many opportunities to talk about these significant events. We will remember them symbolically; we will try to critical-ly evaluate what they mean to our present. Even I personally as the President of the Slovak Republic want to contribute to making it with even deeper interest and greater emphasis than ever.

But allow me emphasize today what from our modern history I consider to be a meaningful message for today’s society. What we can really be proud of. Which can be and what should be the source of inspiration in addressing our current problems. What we can rely on if we care about the successful 25-year story of the Slovak Republic continuing.

The creation of myths about national and cultural exceptionalism is not behind our success. Nor even searching for monsters beyond our borders, which we can hold accountable for our own failures and misfires. Not even the division of society into good and evil, according to how it suits the interests of the powerful. Not even pointing fingers at minorities, that most of them are a burden, and that they are supposedly standing in the way to a better life. Nor give preference to extreme solutions where there is a lack of will for conscientious  work. Nor the arrogance of the powerful, which leads to the unwillingness to manage public affairs and indifference to the public space we live in together.

On the contrary. All this has been the cause of tragedy in our history. And it can lead to more tragedies, if we allow mutual animosity, the lack of respect for others to get out of control again. Or if we allow for our disappointment and apathy to miss opportunities to further develop our surroundings, the region and the entire country.

The basis of the strong story of the Slovak Republic, the source of our state’s viabil-ity, is something completely different. Something beautiful and valuable.
We succeeded in improving life in our country by focusing our attention on efforts for a just, secure, free and social state.
When we strengthened trust and cohesion among people by the effort to develop a sense of fairness and equality before the law.
When we took steps to improve the dignity and quality of life of people in Slovakia.

When we did not forget those who cannot help themselves.

When we were able to discuss and search for solutions even in difficult and crisis situations.

When we bravely opposed injustice and arrogance of power.

These are the real successes we can be proud of. As a society, as a state, it is most suitable for us not to fight against what we hate and what we are afraid of, but to protect and develop what is precious to us.

Dear fellow citizens,
If I had to evaluate the past year through the major events whose significant anniver-sary we are recalling, I think that in the most important test of 2017 we have suc-ceeded as a free society. In November, when we selected the presidents and deputies of the self-governing regions, we almost totally defeated the extremists with the most powerful weapon we have — democratic elections.

I consider this important to mention, because I believe that the results of these elec-tions have significantly influenced the mood in our country. Let us imagine what would be hurting us today, what we would be saying if the extremists had succeeded in the regional elections. If they had been even more confidently spreading out in our country, if they had kept us occupied even more through hate talk, aggressive manifestations and unacceptable political attitudes.

No, we did not definitively defeat evil in November. But we managed to avert a great danger. As voters we once again managed to make a good decision at a crucial moment — that the Slovak Republic is and wants to remain a self-confident, modern, democratic country.

Last year, in the New Year’s Address I stressed that 2017 would be a year of truth for Slovakia. Demonstrating whether we would be able to transform good economic growth into better public services. Whether we could launch an ambitious reform education plan for our children. Whether neglected healthcare would gain an impetus to higher quality and availability for patients in each region. Whether we would initiate changes that would in particular lead Roma children from the trap of poverty and uneducation in which their parents were trapped. Whether we would return prospects and energy to regions whose inhabitants may legitimately feel forgotten. Whether we would listen to protesting people and really fight corruption.

Also at the beginning of 2018, it is true that in our 25-year history we have never had such a great deal of space and so much means to make a big move in solving our biggest, the chronic problems. The number of unemployed is at a record low, the economy of the country considerably growing. But at the same time, there is a lack of political courage, a lack of honest effort, and most importantly — results. In this respect, for Slovakia the year 2017 was instead an unpleasant year of truth.

The effective, factual, rational content policy is generally triggered by insignificant and petty quarrels. Victories in these aggressive political battles make no sense. They do not create opportunities for necessary changes. They do not improve the present we live in. They do not increase the chances of a better future. Only short-sightedly, ruthlessly and arrogantly deepen the mistrust to the state and the politicians who ad-minister it.

Our society has become rougher in recent years. Our public debate has become rougher. Our public space has become uglier. The boundaries of what is acceptable to say aloud or publish on social networks are more shaky.

We have to face it. This year, now. We should not make an enemy of anyone who has a different opinion or a critical attitude toward what we do. We cannot allow our society, as a result of insignificant political struggles and dubious interests, to break up into camps that hate each other.

I think it is possible to stop the erosion of politeness and thoughtfulness in the public sphere. Each of us can contribute to a better Slovakia — at school, in the hospital, at work, at church, at the office, on the street.

We are strong enough to prevent the weakening of our society’s cohesion, venerability and respect of one person to another. When we want to, we can stop rewarding with favor those who, through aggression, try to mask the lack of content, enthusiasm and determination to seek real solutions to difficult challenges. We can be sensitive and responsive to the needs of others. I see examples of such understanding every day and in every corner of Slovakia.

I believe this, because I am the President of the Slovak Republic, which is doing well when developing what is most precious to us. A free and fair society. A strong, self-confident and modern country that has the potential to change each person’s life for the better.

I wish you and your families health and love.

Happy New Year 2018.”