President Wants Ministers' Names and Idea of Minority Governing from Heger
Bratislava, August 31 (TASR) – Following her talks with Premier Eduard Heger (OLaNO) and Parliamentary Chair Boris Kollar (We Are Family) on Wednesday, President Zuzana Caputova said she’s asked the premier to submit nominees for the vacated ministerial posts to her on time.
At the same time, the president demands that Heger present the way in which his minority government intends to gain support for its laws as soon as possible. She also wants the period of mutual ultimatums to end on Monday (September 5), stressing the need for a functional government, especially in a time of crises.
The head of the state underlined that as a president she is responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of constitutional bodies. The Coalition Council isn’t such a body and, therefore, she hasn’t been interfering in its leaders’ talks up to now. “However, the government is a constitutional body and should be functional in all circumstances, especially in a period of crises. A strong and functional government is needed in the situation in which we’ve found ourselves,” she stressed.
Caputova pointed to steps taken by neighbouring countries to mitigate impacts of the energy crisis. Therefore, the common goal must be a functional democratic government that will lead Slovakia through a challenging period, she said, noting that the Cabinet would be dysfunctional without majority support in Parliament. At the same time, she asks representatives of the governing parties how they want to solve serious crises, when they were unable to resolve the one within the coalition for two months.
The president views two months of the government crisis to be a long enough time for those engaged in the disputes to familiarise themselves with requirements and show their ability to govern. Despite this, they probably failed to come to agreement, and trust among coalition leaders hasn’t been restored, either. “On the last day of the ultimatum, a new ultimatum came from the other side. Did the finance minister really have to wait until the last hour before submitting resignations to come up with this step? Instead of a solution, an endless series continues, but no one is interested in it any longer. This is not the way to govern,” underlined the president, adding that talking about responsibility and at the same time coming up with new demands is a contradiction between words and deeds.
