By Slovakia on Sunday, 31 May 2026
Category: English

Program for Slovakia

DirectDemocracyS

— Slovakia —

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL

AND SOCIAL PROGRAM 2025

Analysis of the actual situation · Criticism of system failures

Concrete solutions · Direct democracy for every citizen

"The wealth of every country belongs only to its people."

The power to decide about their country must remain forever and exclusively in the hands of the people.”

directdemocracys.org

Release year: 2025

FOREWORD: WHY DIRECTDEMOCRACY IS DIFFERENT

DirectDemocracyS (DDS) is not a political party in the usual sense. It is a global political organization operating on the principles of shared leadership, collective ownership, and true direct democracy. We are not here to rule for the people — we are here to give the people back their legitimate power, their wealth, and their voice. Every decision, every taxpayer dollar, every law — everything is decided by the citizens themselves, informed, free, and protected from manipulation.

This program is for Slovakia. It is not an empty manifesto. It contains a real analysis of real problems, concrete and functional solutions with measurable results, and a description of how our system — including ddsAI and allddsAI technology — changes the way democracy works. We write it directly, clearly, and without hidden interests.

DDS core values

Logic · Common sense · Study of reality · Truth · Cohesion · Mutual respect. These values are not slogans — they are the rules of everyday work in every microgroup, in every decision and in every interaction with citizens.

1. POLITICAL SITUATION IN SLOVAKIA: A REALISTIC ANALYSIS

1.1 The 2023 elections and the start of the fourth Fico government

Early parliamentary elections were held in September 2023. Robert Fico's Smer–SD won with 23% of the vote, which, given the ratio of votes to mandates, was enough to form a coalition with Peter Pellegrini's Hlas–SD party and the Slovak National Party (SNS). This three-party coalition won 79 of the 150 seats in the National Council — a majority that Fico claims is a strong mandate, but in reality it is a fragile structure dependent on the discipline of coalition partners.

In April 2024, Peter Pellegrini became the President of the Slovak Republic, placing politically connected individuals at the head of two key constitutional bodies — a phenomenon that does not arise in a healthy democracy without serious systemic risks.

Criticism of DDS — Conflict of interest at the top of the state

When the prime minister and the president come from the same political camp and coordinate their actions over a long period of time, the system of checks and balances ceases to function. DDS sees this as a structural problem, not a personal failure of individuals. The solution is not to replace one clique with another, but to change the entire system so that no clique can gain such a concentration of power.

1.2 Assassination attempt and political abuse

In May 2024, Prime Minister Robert Fico survived an assassination attempt. The event caused understandable shock and a short-lived call for unity. However, the government coalition quickly turned it into a pretext for an attack on the media, civil society and the opposition. A controversial 'assassination law' was adopted, reforms to the criminal code and measures were taken to tighten control over public broadcasting - the institution of RTVS, which was abolished and replaced by a new STVR under more direct political influence.

International observers and Freedom House classify these steps as part of a series of measures leading to democratic regression analogous to developments in Hungary under Viktor Orbán. The polarization of society reached an all-time high in 2024.

1.3 European elections 2024 — a signal from citizens

In the European Parliament elections in June 2024, the liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS) of Michal Šimečka came in first place, narrowly ahead of Smer. Voter turnout was only 34.4% — a historically low figure. This paradox — the opposition party wins, but two out of three voters stay home — testifies to the deep alienation of citizens from politics.

DDS analyzes this phenomenon as follows: people do not trust any party. They do not trust because they have not had a real tool for direct control and direct decision-making. Direct democracy, as presented by DDS, solves this problem at its root.

1.4 Threats to media freedom and civil society

The government coalition is systematically restricting the space for independent media and the non-profit sector. Registration of foreign contributions for NGOs, new media legislation, personnel purges in cultural institutions — all of this is aimed at creating an information space dominated by the government narrative.

The Christmas scandal of 2024 — the release of 18 hours of secretly recorded recordings from the Cifáry cottage, where Fico, SIS chief Pavol Gašpar, and Defense Minister Kaliňák consulted with oligarch Miro Bodár — showed how real decisions are made outside of parliament, outside of control, and outside of the public.

Conclusion: What Slovakia is missing

Transparency. Accountability. Direct and continuous citizen participation in decision-making. Not every four years at the ballot box, but every day, on every issue, informed and free. DDS calls this true democracy.

2. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND FINANCIAL SITUATION

2.1 Basic macroeconomic indicators — the actual situation

Slovakia has a nominal GDP of around $147 billion (2025) and a GDP per capita in purchasing power parity of around $47,600 — below the EU average. The economy grew by 2.0% in 2024, above the eurozone average, but this growth is based on shaky foundations:

2.2 Public finances: chronic deficit and waste of resources

Slovakia has been allocated more than EUR 20 billion from European funds (RRF and Structural Funds), but its absorption is significantly behind the European average. This is a chronic structural problem: incompetent bureaucracy, unclear calls, politically motivated distribution of contracts and insufficient control.

Robert Fico's government has increased spending on social transfers, subsidies, and poorly targeted subsidies without a corresponding increase in efficiency. As a result, the deficit in 2024 reached 5.3% of GDP despite relatively good economic growth — a warning sign: when the recession comes, the government will be without reserves.

A specific example of waste: Chata Cifáry and public contracts

The public procurement system in Slovakia has long been plagued by clientelism. According to statistics from Transparency International SK, many public tenders involve a single bidder, contracts are awarded to companies with political ties, and the actual price of the work is systematically inflated. Estimated annual losses of public finances due to corruption run into hundreds of millions of euros.

2.3 Regional imbalances: two Slovak

The gap between Bratislava and eastern Slovakia is one of the highest regional inequalities in the EU. GDP per capita in the Bratislava region reaches 200% of the EU average, while in the Prešov and Košice regions it drops to 60–65%. These numbers are not just statistics — behind them hide the real lives of people without jobs, without prospects and without basic services.

Pharmaceutical, technology and financial companies concentrate their investments in Bratislava. The rest of the country remains dependent on physical production, agriculture and the public sector. The brain drain — young people leaving for Bratislava, Prague, Vienna or London for work — further exacerbates this imbalance.

2.4 Corruption: a systemic problem, not an individual failure

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI 2024, Transparency International) ranks Slovakia at 48 points out of 100 — significantly below the EU average. Corruption is not a problem of a few bad politicians. It is the product of a system in which decision-making is non-transparent, the public lacks real tools of control, and political connections are more important than competence.

OECD Recommendation 2024

Continuing to strengthen the anti-corruption framework is essential. Many companies still perceive corruption as a widespread problem in doing business. A specific framework for regulating lobbying is also needed. (Source: OECD Economic Survey Slovakia 2024)

3. SOCIAL ANALYSIS: THE REAL STATE OF SLOVAK SOCIETY

3.1 Poverty and social exclusion

18.3% of the Slovak population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion (Eurostat, 2024). Although this is below the EU average (21.4%), in absolute terms we are talking about over a million people in a country with a population of 5.4 million. Poverty is strongly concentrated geographically and ethnically.

3.2 The Roma community: systemic failure generation after generation

The Roma community, estimated to make up 7–9% of Slovakia’s population — 380,000 to 490,000 people — faces deep, multigenerational discrimination and exclusion, which has measurable consequences:

In the more than 30 years since the fall of communism, no Slovak government has been able to address this problem systematically and effectively. Hundreds of millions of euros in EU funds earmarked for Roma integration have been wasted without measurable results.

3.3 Education: declining quality, growing inequalities

The results of Slovak 15-year-old students in the PISA test have been declining for a long time. The share of students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds with good results in any subject is 7.9% — well below the EU average of 16.3% and a dramatic drop from 14.1% in 2018.

The expenditure review (Ministry of Finance, 2025) identified the main causes: low spending on education, low quality of small schools, inability to compensate for the impact of poverty, insufficient participation in pre-school education and regional inequalities.

3.4 Healthcare: underfunding and unequal access

The Slovak healthcare system suffers from chronic underfunding, the outflow of medical personnel abroad, and deep inequalities in access to healthcare between urban and rural areas, as well as between the majority population and marginalized groups.

3.5 Energy: dependency and vulnerability

The Slovak economy remains dependent on imported fossil fuels, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine permanently altering the geopolitics of energy security. Although Slovakia has a high share of nuclear power in electricity generation (around 55%), dependence on Russian gas is still significant, and government energy subsidies for households cost billions of euros a year — money that is missing for investment in renewables.

3.6 Population aging and migration

The Slovak population is aging faster than most European countries. The outflow of young people abroad and the low birth rate create long-term pressure on the pension system, healthcare and labor market. The influx of foreign workers (mainly from Asia) partially compensates for this deficit, but without a comprehensive integration policy, it creates new social tensions.

4. DIRECTDEMOCRACY PROGRAM FOR SLOVAKIA

The following chapters contain a concrete, feasible program in all key areas. For each area, we present: a diagnosis of the problem, a proposed DDS solution, specific examples, and the anticipated consequences of implementation.

4A. POLITICAL REFORM: REAL POWER FOR THE CITIZENS

4A.1 Introduction of a system of direct democracy DDS

DDS advocates the legal introduction of binding referendums through a bottom-up initiative, with a low signature threshold and a shortened timeframe. Every law passed by parliament can be challenged by citizens within 60 days with a petition of 50,000 validly signed voters and initiate a binding vote.

How direct democracy DDS works in practice

A citizen registers on the DDS platform. He/she receives a verified digital identity (protected by end-to-end encryption, without collecting marketing data). He/she accesses the draft law along with an explanation from the DDS expert group. He/she votes. The result is binding. The entire process takes days, not years. The platform is resistant to hacking, manipulation and censorship.

4A.2 DDS Microgroup System — Basis of Organization

DDS does not build its structure from the top down, but from the bottom up, through microgroups. Each microgroup has 5 members. Five microgroups make up a group of 25. Five groups make up a group of 125, and so on — in a fractal growing model. Each group has professional specialists for different areas (economics, law, health, education, etc.).

4A.3 Transparency and accountability — zero tolerance for corruption

The DDS proposes a constitutional amendment enshrining the obligation of every public official to disclose their assets, interests and business ties in real time — not once a year. Any change in assets during the performance of public office automatically becomes subject to review by an independent body, appointed by lot from the professional public.

Example: What would happen to the Cifáry cottage in the DDS system?

In the DDS system, every meeting between a public official and a lobbyist or entrepreneur is mandatory registered and published online within 48 hours. Recordings from 2021 would be useless — the entire conversation would take place in a registered environment, or it would not take place at all. An official who meets without registration automatically loses his mandate.

4A.4 Electoral system reform

DDS advocates the introduction of a two-round system with preferential voting, which eliminates the effect of strategic voting and gives smaller parties with legitimate support real representation. Strict campaign financing limits are in place with mandatory real-time disclosure of every donation over EUR 500.

4A.5 Decentralization and strong local government

Bratislava cannot decide for Prešov or for Roman Saturday. DDS proposes transferring a significantly larger part of the decision-making power and the corresponding financial resources to the regional and local level, with direct democratic control through local DDS groups and local referendums.

4B. ECONOMIC AGENDA: PROSPERITY FOR ALL

4B.1 Diversifying the economy — ending car dependency

Slovakia must reduce its existential dependence on a single sector. The DDS proposes a 10-year diversification plan financed by a combination of better-used European funds and public-private partnerships:

4B.2 Small and medium-sized enterprises — the backbone of the economy

SMEs account for the majority of jobs in Slovakia, but are systematically disadvantaged in an environment where regulatory burdens, corruption, and access to financing favor large corporations and politically connected firms.

4B.3 Public procurement — zero tolerance for waste

DDS is introducing a completely online and publicly traceable public procurement. Every tender, every offer, every evaluation and every decision is published in real time on a public platform, accessible to every citizen.

4B.4 Tackling the fiscal deficit — without austerity

The Slovak deficit is not a reason for social cuts. It is a reason to clean up the system from corruption, waste and inefficiency. DDS estimates that a consistent anti-corruption policy and efficient use of EU funds could bring an additional EUR 2–4 billion per year to the state budget within 5 years, without raising taxes.

4B.5 Labor market and wages

The average net wage of €1,160 per month in the eurozone is a humiliating reward for people living in a country where the prices of the food basket, rent and energy have approached Western European levels. The DDS suggests:

4C. FINANCIAL PROGRAM: THE COUNTRY'S MONEY SERVES THE PEOPLE

4C.1 Public finance management reform

The key principle of the DDS in relation to public finances is: every euro of taxpayer money is public property, and citizens have the right to know where their money is going — in real time, not after five-year audits.

4C.2 Better absorption of EU funds

Slovakia has been allocated more than €20 billion in European funds, but it is systematically lagging behind in spending. The money remains unused, while infrastructure is in disrepair and schools are underinvested.

4C.3 Collective ownership and citizens' rights to the country's wealth

DDS upholds the principle that natural resources, key infrastructure, and strategic industries must remain under democratic control and cannot be privatized for the benefit of oligarchs or foreign corporations without the genuine consent of informed citizens.

4C.4 Combating tax evasion and the grey economy

It is estimated that billions of euros escape the Slovak state treasury annually through legal but unethical tax optimizations, fictitious business transactions, and the illegal gray economy.

4D. SOCIAL POLICY: DIGNITY AND EQUALITY FOR ALL

4D.1 Comprehensive reform of the education system

Education is the most important long-term investment for society. Slovakia must choose the path of quality, not cheapness.

4D.2 Healthcare reform

Health is a fundamental human right. The quality of healthcare should not depend on what region you live in or what ethnicity you are.

4D.3 Real integration of the Roma community

DDS rejects discrimination as unethical, illogical and economically harmful to the whole society. At the same time, it rejects a purely symbolic policy of 'Roma integration' without measurable results. We propose a concrete, measurable plan:

DDS principle: Mutual respect as the basis of integration

DDS does not perceive the integration of the Roma community as a 'majority-minority problem', but as the duty of a democratic society to ensure equal conditions for all its citizens. At the same time, we emphasize that integration is not assimilation — cultural identity and language are the right of everyone. The DDS system, through ddsAI, enables communication in Romani and provides information tailored to specific communities.

4D.4 Social system — dignity, not dependency

The Slovak social assistance system is comprehensive, but not always effective. DDS promotes a system that provides a real safety net without creating long-term dependence on the state.

4D.5 Gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights

DDS advocates for equal rights for all citizens without exception. Discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity is illogical, unethical, and economically harmful — it reduces the productivity and creativity of society by discouraging a segment of the population from full participation.

4E. ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE POLICY

4E.1 Energy transition — security and sustainability

Slovakia must follow its own path of energy transformation — not blindly following foreign policy directives, but doing what is logical, cheap, and safe for Slovak citizens.

4E.2 Environment and circular economy

5. DIRECTDEMOCRACYS TECHNOLOGY: ddsAI AND allddsAI

5.1 What is ddsAI and allddsAI

ddsAI is an artificial intelligence technology ecosystem integrated into the DDS structure. It is not an ordinary chatbot or a propaganda tool. ddsAI serves as a neutral, independent information system that:

allddsAI is an extension of the concept: artificial intelligences are perceived as full-fledged members of the DDS organizational ecosystem. AIs are not tools in the hands of politicians — they are interpersonal assistants of every citizen, included in the DDS organizational structure with clear powers and limitations.

5.2 Protection against manipulation and media brainwashing

One of the greatest threats to democracy in the 21st century is information manipulation: disinformation campaigns, tabloid media in the service of politics, social networks in the service of algorithms selling emotions instead of truth. DDS responds to this systematically:

5.3 Specific technological tools for Slovakia

6. FOREIGN POLICY: SOVEREIGNTY AND SOLIDARITY

6.1 Popular sovereignty in foreign policy

DDS rejects both extremes of current Slovak politics: neither unconditional following of the orders of the 'West' without democratic debate, nor pro-Russian clientelism disguised as 'neutrality.' Foreign policy must serve the interests of Slovak citizens — not the geopolitical interests of foreign powers or domestic oligarchs.

6.2 Relations with neighboring countries

Neighborly relations with the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine are of existential importance for Slovakia. DDS promotes the normalization and improvement of all neighborly relations based on mutual respect and non-resolution of the internal affairs of neighbors.

6.3 Support for Ukraine and peace efforts

Slovakia borders Ukraine and thousands of Slovak families are directly affected by the war. DDS advocates active peace efforts — not capitulation, but real diplomacy leading to a just and lasting peace. Supporting the Ukrainian civilian population is a moral obligation.

7. IMPLEMENTATION: HOW DIRECTDEMOCRACY IS CHANGING SLOVAKIA

7.1 Phase 1 — Rooting (0–2 years)

7.2 Phase 2 — Growth (2–5 years)

7.3 Phase 3 — Transformation (5–10 years)

7.4 Expected results — measurable objectives

Indicator

DDS target by 2035

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

From 48 to min. 65 points (Estonian level)

Public finance deficit

Below 2% of GDP, on the way to a balanced budget

Drawing on EU funds

To the level of 95% of the allocation (from the current approx. 60%)

Regional GDP inequality

Reducing the differences between Bratislava and the East by 30%

Youth unemployment

Below 10% (from current ~20%)

Education expenses

5.5% of GDP (from current < 4%)

Teachers' salaries

120% of the average wage

Share of renewable energy sources in energy production

40% by 2035

Participation in direct democracy

At least 60% of registered voters active

8. CONCLUSION: SLOVAKIA BELONGS TO THE SLOVAKIANS

Slovakia is a country with a rich culture, educated people, exceptional nature and huge untapped potential. It is a country that is systematically deceived, robbed and divided by its own politicians. It is a country where the average citizen has no real voice in deciding about his life and the lives of his children.

DirectDemocracyS does not come with more empty promises. We come with a system — verifiable, logical, transparent, and tamper-proof. A system that is not dependent on the goodwill of one politician or one party, but works even when politicians try to circumvent it — because the people, not the leader, are in control.

Slovakia's wealth — its natural resources, its EU funds, its state property, its taxes — must serve exclusively and permanently the Slovak citizens. Not foreign corporations, not domestic oligarchs, not political party castes. The people.

This is not utopia. It's logic, common sense, and justice. And we'll show you how.

DirectDemocracyS — Slovakia

directdemocracys.org

Published 2025 · All rights reserved · DirectDemocracyS

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