President Caputova Calls on Premier Matovic to End Coalition Crisis

Bratislava, March 16 (TASR) – President Zuzana Caputova called on Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) to end the coalition and government crisis as soon as possible.

The head of state spoke after meeting Matovic and representatives of the junior coalition SaS party on Tuesday, adding that Slovakia needs a fully functional government.

“It’s necessary to end the “agony” and act. It’s about time,” claimed Caputova.

The President warned that the government crisis is taking place in the midst of the pandemic of novel coronavirus, during which the people face deaths of loved ones, economic restrictions and increasing poverty.

Slovakia needs to make an instant change in the management of the pandemic, so that it won’t continue to be one of the countries with the largest number of COVID-19 deaths [per million inhabitants -ed.note].

Caputova also urged the Government to provide more extensive aid to the people, as “poverty and life in fear is becoming a new pandemic in its own right”. She also asks for immediate changes to the vaccination programme, so that it won’t be an “undignified competition for survival” and calls for improvements in communication both inside the government and outward.

“All government members, including the Prime Minister, must act in the public interest,” underlined Caputova.

She added that conflicts within the government have lasted for months and the government crisis for two and half weeks. Caputova warned that every day matters during the pandemic.

Because of this, she invited Premier Matovic on Tuesday to the Presidential Palace to learn of his plans for dealing with the critical situation. “He had no specific answer for the time being,” she said.