SaS Forms Team to Negotiate New Coalition Agreement

Bratislava, July 29 (TASR) – A new coalition agreement will be negotiated on behalf of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party by a team consisting of SaS head Richard Sulik, Justice Minister Maria Kolikova and Education Minister Branislav Groehling, Sulik himself reported on Friday, adding that this was the decision of SaS’s republican council.

At the same time, he announced that the team is only allowed to agree to a coalition agreement indicating that Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) will not be a member of the Government.

Claiming that the decision is meant to “shake off all speculation and conjecture” regarding SaS’s demand for Matovic’s ouster, Sulik reiterated the reasons why SaS wants Matovic gone from the Cabinet, i.e. his alleged habits of subverting public finances, passing harmful bills and violating the legislative process.

“This state of affairs is no longer bearable, and that’s why we have decided on this,” said Sulik. According to him, OLaNO must now decide whether to prioritise its own interests or those of Slovakia.

The SaS chief declared that his party is ready to negotiate and sign a new coalition agreement. He didn’t specify what the new agreement should contain, apart from Matovic’s ouster, however. “We won’t publicly announce this before we have negotiated it with our coalition partners,” claimed Sulik.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) has stated that the coalition will hold talks regarding SaS’s demands during the summer, adding that the result of these talks will probably be known “in the final few hours”. In line with SaS’s ultimatum, SaS ministers will tender their resignations on August 31 if Matovic doesn’t resign or isn’t dismissed by then.