Simecka: PS Staffed House Vice-chair Post to Prevent Coalition from Taking It

(TA3, 'V politike', 22 June) Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party leader Michal Simecka said that PS staffed the House vice-chair post with Martin Dubeci to prevent the coalition from taking it, since there were signals from coalition MPs that they would be interested in it. According to Simecka, the House vice-chair for the opposition will enable the opposition to supervise the governing coalition better. Dubeci might, for example, take part in Security Council meetings. "When the Security Council held the meeting about the alleged coup, no one from the opposition could have attended it. So we would like to have this kind of supervision," he said. He denied that there would have been a political agreement with the Slovak National Party (SNS) on Dubeci's election. His opponent on the show, coalition Voice-SD party leader and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok confirmed that MP Jan Ferencak will remain the head of the parliamentary European affairs committee. "He's still a party member, though a rank-and-file one, we have 3,000 members. We have a plenty of capable, smart people in Voice-SD. I think that Mr. Ferencak is capable and smart enough to hold the post," stated Sutaj Estok. Answering the question about the unity of the Voice-SD caucus in voting on an amendment to the Constitution, Sutaj Estok said that if Ferencak doesn't think there are only male and female genders, let him not vote for the draft. Simecka criticised Premier Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) statements on Slovakia's neutrality. He views such statements by the premier as dangerous and irresponsible at the time when "Russia is waging a bloody aggressive war against Ukraine just behind our borders, threatening Slovakia and the rest of Europe with missiles". Sutaj Estok perceives the premier's statements as his opinion that needs to be respected. According to him, the period when politicians couldn't express their opinions ended in 1989. However, the minister confirmed that if Slovakia's foreign-political orientation were to change from a Western-oriented one, Voice-SD would quit the government. ko