Kalinak: Danko Would Make Good House Chair

        Bratislava, June 4 (TASR) - Head of the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko would make a good parliamentary chair, said Vice-premier and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) on a radio-broadcast debate on Tuesday, adding that he himself and Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) consider appointing Danko to the post to be a good move.
        I think that the discussion on this will start after the European Parliament elections ... We'll have some answers by the end of June. This is a good proposal for the stability and balance of the coalition," opined Kalinak.
        The minister noted that filling the post would come down to an agreement between SNS and Voice-SD. "There's no reason why it should harm either Voice or SNS," he remarked, adding that the existing coalition agreement, which distributed individual posts among the coalition partners, was created at a time when president-elect Peter Pellegrini, the previous House chair, hadn't yet been elected, and it is possible to amend the agreement.
        Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD), who was also on the show, acknowledged that Danko has served as House chair previously, and so has experience with the post. He's also aware of Danko's political desire to fill the post. Nevertheless, he pointed out that the congress of Voice-SD on June 1 confirmed that the right to nominate candidates for the post belongs to Voice-SD in line with the coalition agreement.
        Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) stressed at the party congress the need for stability in the coalition in order for the government to be able to carry out its programme. He called on the coalition partners to respect the coalition agreement and insisted on Voice's claim to the post of parliamentary chair. At the same time, he reiterated that Voice will nominate Investment Minister Richard Rasi for the post.