Pellegrini: Conflict in Smer on Table, Should Be Resolved by Summer

The conflict within Smer-SD is already out in the open, and party members seem to have different opinions on it, Smer vice-chair Peter Pellegrini stated on Sunday, speaking on television channel Markiza’s politics show ‘Tough Questions’.

Pellegrini again didn’t rule out the possibility that he could leave the party in the end. However, he noted at the same time that he thinks that the fairest solution would be to let Smer supporters choose which kind of politics they want see from the party in the future.

“I’m not interested in money or Smer’s facilities, nor the top post, for that matter. I’d be glad if it were people that would decide instead of the party authorities,” said Pellegrini.

The ex-prime minister remarked that he did everything within his power to bring Smer-SD the best possible result in the recent general election, but now the time has come for the party to deal with its internal problems. He claimed that this shouldn’t take long, stating that he expects the issue to be resolved before the summer holidays.

Addressing a recent poll carried out by Focus agency, according to which his potential new party would have garnered the support of 21.4 percent of voters, Pellegrini said that he’s never based his decisions on polls.

“Easy come, easy go – that’s popularity for you. People can like you now, but it could be a completely different story next month,” remarked Pellegrini, adding that he perhaps should give thought in the future to whether and how he’ll meet this ‘demand’ for a party led by him.

Pellegrini’s opponent in the discussion, Labour Minister Milan Krajniak (We Are Family), stated regarding the poll that even ex-president Andrej Kiska expected the support of many when he was setting up the For the People party. “When he was no longer the most senior state representative, the party’s result in the general election was lower than expected,” said Krajniak.