Conductor Robert Jindra Resigns from Košice Philharmonic

Jindra stepped down after criticizing Slovakia's culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová — in a move the ministry described as "shocking and unacceptable"

The Czech conductor Robert Jindra has resigned from his position as Chief Conductor of the Košice Philharmonic, after he criticized Slovakia's controversial culture minister Martina Šimkovičová on social media.

Of late, Šimkovičová's actions have provoked strong criticism. She has publicly made comments of a homophobic nature, as well as deriding refugees, whom she says are "eroding Slovak culture." In addition, her second-in-command, Lukáš Machala, is publicly pro-Putin.

On August 12, more than 18,000 protestors gathered in a square in Bratislava to demand Šimkovičová's resignation. They were protesting her decision to remove the directors of two prominent cultural institutions: Alexandra Kusá of the National Gallery and Matej Drlička of the National Theatre.

Conductor Robert Jindra was among many cultural figures to criticize Šimkovičová. "Let’s stop this incompetent person who is ruining Slovak culture," he wrote on social media last week. "Slovakia, my dear friends, I'm with you."

On a private social media page, Jindra also made another post, which allegedly used derogatory language to refer to Šimkovičová. A screenshot of the post was shared on Telegram, and Jindra has since deleted the original.

By August 14, Jindra was no longer the Chief Conductor of the Košice Philharmonic, despite having held the position since 2021.

"The use of such language by an employee of a state cultural institution is shocking and unacceptable," the culture ministry wrote in a press release.

"My purely private statements on entirely different matters, even those made over a month ago and taken out of context, have been deliberately and purposefully pieced together," Jindra said. "My post may have offended Mrs. Šimkovičová, but her statements have offended many."