Matovic: There'll Be Time to Hold Sulik Accountable in Future

Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) stated on Sunday, speaking on TA3’s discussion programme In Politics, that he doesn’t intend to dismiss Economy Minister Richard Sulik (SaS) over the current epidemic situation, noting there will be time for holding Sulik accountable in the future.

When asked why he didn’t attend the Government sessions that took place this week, Matovic replied that he didn’t want to cause “friction”, as he’d expected that the coalition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party would come up with proposals with which he doesn’t agree. In his opinion, it’s not a good idea to reopen schools.

According to the premier, the high numbers of new daily infection cases and hospitalised patients can be attributed to the fact that Sulik didn’t purchase enough antigen tests in time as well as the British mutation of novel coronavirus. In his opinion, the situation in Slovakia would be much worse if Slovakia hadn’t carried out several rounds of mass testing for the virus with antigen tests. He remarked in this regard that he aims to ask Sulik why he hasn’t purchased antigen tests that require only shallow nasal swabs yet, as these kits should be used to test children in schools.

Turning to the fact that ex-premier Peter Pellegrini (Voice-SD) wants to carry out a referendum on a snap general election, Matovic noted that Pellegrini as well as his former boss Robert Fico (Smer-SD) are scared. Their true aim is to allow the mafia to retake control of the state and release various people from custody.

As for his recent meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Matovic remarked that it would have been a loss for Slovakia if he’d refused to visit France. The premier claimed that he gifted Macron coronavirus test kits for detecting the British variant of the virus.