Monitor: Hajko Calls Resolution on Anti-Russian Sanctions Huge Disgrace... (2)

(STVR, 'O 5 minut 12', 8 June) The information the country has sent out to the world with the parliamentary resolution on rejecting anti-Russian sanctions is a huge disgrace, said opposition MP Jozef Hajko (Christian Democratic Movement/KDH) said on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, while Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) said the opposition was equally to blame. “No one in the world will study how many MPs (...), how many MPs abstained, or whether the opposition was obstructing. It doesn’t matter at all. The signal sent out to the world was simply that the Slovak parliament is against adopting further Russian sanctions,” Hajko stated, adding that Russia still regards Slovakia as a hostile state. Tomas agreed that no one in the world will be interested in exactly what happened during the vote or how it went. However, he is convinced that the opposition is also to blame for the outcome. At the same time, Hajko pointed to differing attitudes within the ruling coalition on this serious matter. In his view, it's unclear to what extent this resolution is binding on the government. He described what will happen next as a huge puzzle. Tomas disagreed that the vote had divided his party, saying MPs were given a free hand. According to the resolution, which was submitted by the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS), cabinet members shouldn't vote in international organisations to adopt new sanctions and trade restrictions against Russia. At the same time, government members should actively promote measures to stabilise the energy market, eliminate price volatility and protect the strategic interests of the Slovak economy. Fifty-one of the 76 MPs present for the vote backed the draft. They included the whole SNS caucus, most of the Smer-SD caucus, some Voice-SD MPs and several Independents. Jan Ferencak (Voice-SD) voted against the draft, while an additional 23 MPs, mainly from the Voice-SD caucus, abstained from voting. Opposition MPs didn't take part in the vote. The MPs also discussed the topic of the transaction tax. According to Tomas, if the government did not consolidate, the public finance debt would be even higher. Consolidation is necessary to repair the damage caused by previous governments. Hajko stated that the transaction tax creates chaos and “rips people off.” He also criticised the removal of 17 November as a public holiday, saying the government chose that day because there were few holidays left in the year to offset budget shortfalls. lin