Smer Presents Five Conditions for Potential Coalition Partners

Bratislava, February 21 (TASR) – Smer-SD has five basic principles that the next government, which will emerge after the March 5 parliamentary election, should observe if Smer is to form part of it, reads a statement that the party’s presidium adopted on Sunday.

“Stability and functionality primarily depend on the number of members of the coalition. The wider it is, the bigger the risk of instability, chaos and the possible downfall of the government. The size of the coalition isn’t the only criterion for a functioning government. There has to be accord in priorities,” said Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The first principle is a unified stance on the migration crisis in the sense that the new government will also reject refugee quotas and will prevent the emergence of compact enclaves of migrants in Slovakia.

The second principle is the protection of national-state interests, the strategic economic interests of Slovakia and the country’s natural resources such as water, land and forests.
The third is a guarantee that the current Government’s social packages won’t be cancelled and that measures aimed at increasing the living standards of specific groups of people will continue to be applied.
The fourth concerns the social dialogue with employees and employers, while the fifth is agreement on carrying out Slovakia’s first Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year.

“Smer-SD is aware that a stable governing coalition based on these principles isn’t the only option that could emerge after the upcoming election. However, this is the only sensible option that can protect the national-state interests of the Slovak Republic and provide Slovakia and its citizens with further peaceful and positive developments,” said Fico.

Fico reiterated that he isn’t ruling anyone out of post-election cooperation. “Every party that receives over 5 percent has the right to sit at the table,” he said, adding that he would view a coalition of two as the ideal form.