President Expects Early Resolution of Crisis, Replacing Ministers among Options
Bratislava, July 22 (TASR) – Following her meeting with Premier Eduard Heger (OLaNO) on Friday, President Zuzana Caputova said that she expects the coalition crisis, for which the Government is responsible, to be resolved soon and the premier to take steps to ensure that the Government will be stable.
According to her, the government crisis isn’t the result of chance. “It’s not a virus, it’s the consequence of very specific events, actions and statements, the underestimation of which has led to the fact that our state is facing major external problems and, at the same time, internal instability and unclear developments,” she said.
According to the president, crises mustn’t be allowed to paralyse the state. She expects Heger to take steps to ensure that the Government is stable or to enable other constitutional options. “One of the possible alternatives is the replacement of ministers in September, which requires my cooperation,” added Caputova.
The president stressed that she’s not an arbiter in this dispute. Its cause has been identified quite precisely. She pointed out that this is the second serious domestic political crisis to take place since the election. It’s happening in the context of other global problems, such as inflation, the pandemic, and security and energy crises. The failure to resolve these problems led to a strike alert by local government and the threat of a teachers strike and doctors handing in their notice. She’s pleased that the Government has already managed to find solutions to some issues with trade unions.
The dispute in the coalition intensified after Parliament overrode the president’s veto on the anti-inflation package sponsored by Finance Minister Igor Matovic. The liberals subsequently withdrew from the coalition agreement, calling on the premier to draft a new one that will reflect the current political state of affairs and incorporate Matovic’s resignation. If the conditions aren’t met by the end of August, all SaS-nominated ministers will tender their resignations. OLaNO stands behind Matovic, however, rejecting his resignation.
SaS leader Richard Sulik last week announced that SaS is no longer part of the coalition. Both parties have stated that they don’t want an early election, however.
