Jesus Christ «will become king of Slovakia»

Stefan Kuffa, State Secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Culture, is a member of the far-right Slovak National Party. Photo: CTK/Alamy Stock Photo

Jesus Christ should be made king of Slovakia, a far-right minister in the country's new coalition government has said.

Stefan Kuffa, secretary of state at the Slovak Ministry of Culture, has appealed to the clergy to support the coronation of the son of God in a 12-minute speech in the Basilica of St. Nicholas.

Mr Kuffa, 61, said: “On behalf of the Ministry of Culture, we promise: and I publicly declare here that we will be the ones to take the lead, so that as soon as possible Christ the King was enthroned and became King of Slovakia.»

His remarks drew sharp criticism from opposition MEP Veronica Remišová, who said: “It has never happened before that a high-ranking politician preached at Holy Mass and misused church territory for his own political purposes.”

Mr. Kuffa, who faces unrelated charges of threatening a farmer during an alleged fight in 2021, is a member of the far-right Slovak National Party, which is the junior partner in the coalition.

King of Poland in 2016< p>Martina Simkovicova, the culture minister, is also a member of a pro-Russian ultra-nationalist group with neo-Nazi roots.

The former TV presenter did not immediately answer questions about whether she supports her state. This is reported by the EurActiv website.

Jesus Christ was proclaimed King of Poland in 2016 after a parliamentary vote held a year after the election of the right-wing populist Law and Justice party.

< p>No legal consequences » there was no coronation, but the ceremony was attended by the President of Poland and other deputies.

The Slovak National Party is one of three parties in a coalition that includes Smer and Hlas, a moderate party formed after the elections in September.

p>

The Slovak government is led by Robert Fico, the Smerov leader and left-wing populist who was elected after campaigning on a promise to stop sending arms. to Ukraine.

Andrej Danko, leader of the Slovak National Party, criticized Mr Fico after the new prime minister recently backed the EU's decision to send more aid to Kiev.