PM: SaS's Talk on Reopening Schools "Is Death", Party Can Dig Graves

Bratislava, November 13 (TASR) – Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLANO) following a session of the Pandemic Commission on Thursday evening went one more round to scold junior coalition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), stating that Education Minister Branislav Gröhling’s talk about reopening schools on November 30 was “death”, and asked whether SaS figures were ready to go out to dig graves.

With 2,000 people currently tested positive for coronavirus each day, it allegedly would be “death” [sic!] to send hundreds of thousands of children back to school, as this would result in Slovakia having three times as many daily infections and deaths by Christmas, according to Matovic. Slovakia on Thursday reported 27 new deaths from COVID-19.

“The SaS party is doing the same what it did to Iveta Radicova’s government [in 2011] – irking, irking, irking and eventually destroying it. I’ll attempt to keep the coalition together and I firmly believe that they’ll come to their senses,” said Matovic in response to a journalist’s question as to whether he wants to kick SaS out of the Government.

“It’s unpleasant to have such a partner. While we keep three parties [OLANO, We Are Family and For the People] together, SaS is repeatedly engaging in dirty tricks, over and over,” said the prime minister.

Gröhling said earlier this week that he was still acting along a decision of the Government from October to reopen schools as of November 30. Matovic reacted by stating that Gröhling must have been aware for a month that schools would be reopened only if the rolling average of new daily positives falls under 500. Meanwhile, the rolling average now stands at 2,024.

Matovic also accused Gröhling, SaS chairman Richard Sulik (who is the first deputy prime minister) and parliamentary health committee chair Jana Bitto Ciganikova of promising “rubbish” to the public.

Sulik: SaS Sorry to See Matovic Raising Resentment over Reason

SaS was sorry to witness personal attacks by the prime minister, who’s “raised his personal resentment over reason”, said Sulik later on Friday.

Sulik added that SaS is more concerned about the good of the country than the attacks, so it prefers not dealing with Matovic’s statements and it will stay in the Government.