Election24: Forro: President Should Be Allowed to Submit Bills to Parliament

 Bratislava, March 11 (TASR) - The president should have stronger powers including, for example, submitting laws to parliament, presidential candidate Krisztian Forro has stated in an interview for TASR, adding that the president should be a mediator between the opposition and the coalition. This interview with Forro is a part of a series of interviews with candidates for the post of Slovak president.


        -What do you view as the most important role of the Slovak president?-

        The president's most important role is to unite. Instead of deepening ditches, he should fill them in.


        -Which power of the president do you find to be the most important, and without which power could you imagine using in the presidential post, or which one do you not plan to use?-

        Given that the president has a very strong mandate directly from the citizens of the country, I think it would be appropriate for him to have even stronger powers. He could, for example, have the right to submit bills to parliament.


        -Some political parties have spoken about the need for a change in the electoral system? Is this change needed? Would you sign off a change in the electoral system?-

        I think that the regions do not have a sufficiently strong voice in parliament. As soon as they make it to parliament, MPs start to look at the regions from Bratislava and soon forget about them. I would definitely support an electoral system with a stronger voice for the regions and all ethnic-minority communities.


        -What is your attitude towards Slovakia's membership of NATO and the EU? We've been members of these organisations for 20 years.-

        The united ethnic-Hungarian party SMK was part of the governing coalition when Slovakia's accession to NATO and the EU was approved. It was a good decision. We currently cannot talk about the same European Union as the one we entered, but I see no better alternative than working to improve it.


        -The president of the Slovak Republic also holds the post of commander of the armed forces. What is your stance on financing the army, its modernisation and strengthening, also in view of what's happening east of our borders?-

        We must have an army able to protect all citizens of the Slovak Republic. Our defence currently has huge weak points, and so financing and modernising it more effectively are justified.


        -What is your opinion of aid to Ukraine? Do you support Ukraine's membership of the EU? The Union has okayed the start of accession talks.-

        I fully support humanitarian aid. I cannot support sending weapons to Ukraine, with or without soldiers. Every weapons delivery only protracts the war, as a result of which sons, fathers, husbands die. Nothing is more precious than human life. If Ukraine meets all the conditions that, for example, Slovakia had to during its accession procedure, there is no reason why Ukraine couldn't become an EU member.


        -Should the president be a counterbalance to the government? Why?-

        The president should be on the citizens' side. Therefore, if there are significant tensions between the governing coalition and the opposition, he should be a mediator seeking breakthroughs between the opposing parties.


        A total of 11 candidates are running for the presidential post in this year's election. They are: Andrej Danko, Patrik Dubovsky, Krisztian Forro, Stefan Harabin, Ivan Korcok, Marian Kotleba, Jan Kubis, Igor Matovic, Milan Nahlik, Peter Pellegrini and Robert Svec.


        NOTE: TASR has asked all 11 presidential candidates for interviews.