Fico: Parties Should Unite in Blocs, Need to Radically Reduce Their Number

Bratislava, 12 June (TASR) - The number of political parties in Slovakia needs to be "radically" reduced by forcing them to merge and form blocs, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) during Question Time in Parliament on Thursday. Fico's idea is that several blocs of parties with the same programmes and visions would compete in elections. A governing coalition is also easier to form if it is made up of a bloc with the same opinions, he said, stressing that the changes should be made based on free democratic elections and that Slovakia must remain a parliamentary democracy. He reiterated that the current political system is neither efficient, nor competitive. "We should think about how to radically reduce the number of political entities in Slovakia. We should do so by forcing them to unite, so that larger blocs are formed, so that not 25 or 100 political parties, but maybe three blocs of parties compete; blocs would come up with some programmes, visions," stated Fico. The premier also reiterated the idea of ​​increasing the quorum that parties must reach to make it into parliament, which equals at least 5 percent at the moment. "Why couldn't political parties with the same orientation unite and form strong blocs? Governance could look completely different if it were under the control of a bloc that has the same opinion," said Fico, adding that it's difficult to govern if you have a bloc composed of several political entities with completely different ideological views. ko/df