He was dismissed by the Minister of Culture Natália Milanová. 10/24/2022 12:05:13 Postpone for later Matej Drlička is no longer the general director of the Slovak National Theater (SND). He was dismissed from his position by the Minister of Culture Natália Milanová (OĽANO). On Monday (October 24), spokeswoman for the Ministry of Culture (MK) Zuzana Viciaňová informed about it. “I am dismissing Mr. Drlička from the position of General Director of SND as of November 1. I thank him for the work he did during his time at the Slovak National Theatre,” said Milanová. The reason was his statements during the debate in Budapest. According to her, these were intended to offend part of society. “In these particularly difficult days marked by the murder in Bratislava, Drlička expressed himself beyond the limits of decent behavior and culture, which art and its representatives should bring to society,” the minister explained. experts. The expectations of the professional and lay public, as well as of the Minister of Culture herself, were high based on the CIS development and management project presented by him, the Department of Culture claims. Due to the difficult financial situation in the CIS, the Minister of Culture entrusted the new general director with drawing up a recovery plan and its implementation. In cooperation with the MK SR, it was possible to start a gradual solution to the bad situation of the theater. However, moving the SND to a more stable state cannot be the only evaluation criterion for a person in such a high position as the general director. Along with this function naturally comes responsibility for actions and public appearances, the ministry said. She believes that it is through respectful communication that “we can cultivate society and sensitize each other”. She is disappointed that Drlička failed as a representative of the CIS, and at that moment also a representative of the Slovak country abroad. According to her, he managed his job as a manager, but not as a public official responsible for his statements. In the coming days, he will entrust the management of the theater to a temporary director so that the operation of the theater is not disrupted. Subsequently, they will launch a new selection process to fill this position. Drlička offered the Minister of Culture his resignation on Friday (October 21). He apologized if anyone was offended by his way of communication and accepted full responsibility for his words. He was criticized for them not only by members of the parliamentary media committee. For example, his derisive remarks about “national artists” who worked in the past or are currently working in files of the SND, about the fact that “I guess they are the most important persons in Slovakia”. Statements addressed to politicians, in which he said “that some, unfortunately, are still breathing”, were considered inadmissible and beyond any conceivable line.