'Slovakia' Party Will Back Proposal to Cut President's Salary

Bratislava, 19 July (TASR) - The opposition 'Slovakia' party will back a proposal by the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) to halve the president's salary, calling on other opposition parties to do so as well. "We'll definitely support the proposal to cut the president's salary and we believe that the whole opposition, led by Progressive Slovakia, will do so," party leader Igor Matovic said on Saturday. Matovic noted that his party has submitted a proposal to reduce politicians' salaries several times during the current electoral term. SNS earlier in the day announced that it will submit a proposal for a 50-percent cut in the president's salary from €18,000 to €9,000 to the September House session. It believes that president should have lower salary than premier given the character of his duties and the scope of rights under the Constitution. President Peter Pellegrini refused to comment on SNS's initiatives. He only said he expects SNS to deal with addressing Slovakia's problems. ko