Danko: SNS Has No Problem with Increasing Election Deposit

Bratislava, May 22 (TASR) - Chair of the Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko has no issue with increasing the election deposit for candidate parties and supports the so-called democratization of political parties, TASR learnt on Thursday. Danko considers the five-percent threshold for entering parliament to be standard, however. He emphasized that state savings should be sought elsewhere rather than in matters related to political parties, as, for instance, reducing the number of MPs by 50 would lead to only minimal savings. However, he agrees that election legislation is ripe for a reform and is willing to support his coalition partners in such an effort. Danko stressed the need to prevent the trading of political parties. According to him, he and Interior Minister and Voice-SD leader Matus Sutaj Estok have discussed the proposals, and Danko agrees with about 95 percent of them. However, he disagrees with the proposal to abolish the single nationwide electoral district, as he believes it would harm small parties. At the next coalition council, Danko intends to propose the formation of a special commission that would address issues related to political parties and elections. "I think it's necessary to stabilize the functioning of political parties," he added. According to Danko, the costs of 50 MPs are a much smaller issue compared to challenges such as the consequences of cutting off Russian gas. He believes the state needs a vision for the future in areas like energy and healthcare. As for the debate about possibly reducing the number of ministries, Danko remarked that too many people work, for example, at the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Investments. In his opinion, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport is necessary. mf