SaS Suspends Participation in Coalition Until Premier Resigns

SaS Suspends Participation in Coalition Until Premier Resigns

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) – The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has suspended its participation in the coalition until Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) resigns, said party chairman Richard Sulik on Thursday after President Zuzana Caputova accepted the resignation of SaS ministers Branislav Groehling and Ivan Korcok.


SaS will continue negotiations only after the premier’s resignation. According to SaS, the negotiations should be led by the person whom the president entrusts with forming a new government. SaS would prefer a new cabinet based on the ground plan of a four-member coalition and the coalition agreement.

“We’re suspending today our participation in the coalition until Igor Matovic resigns, as he promised to do. I’d like to draw attention to the fact that his resignation is not only a demand of the SaS party, but also of the For the People party, as well as of the president, which is an extremely rare, if not unprecedented event,” said Sulik, explaining that SaS won’t take part in official negotiations for the time being. He conceded the possible formation of a three-party coalition without SaS, but his party wants to discuss matters further. However, according to him, it doesn’t make sense to negotiate with the old premier about a new government.

The SaS head rejects the transfer of the prime minister to another post in the government; for example to that of vice-premier for fighting corruption. He considers it to be high-handed to create a new post simply because of the need to give someone a job. According to Sulik, if the premier refuses to leave the Government, SaS will offer another concession – that Matovic could remain in a government post that already belongs to OLaNO if Sulik could also be a minister.

Sulik reiterated that Matovic doesn’t meet the personal, managerial and communication prerequisites for his post, pointing to the consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic. “Instead of a dignified government, Igor Matovic is dealing with himself. We understand that politics isn’t a beauty pageant, we respect the election results, but even this has its limits. What we’re experiencing now is nothing more than Matovic’s struggle for power,” he said.