Monitor: Michelko: Consensus in Coalition to Increase Election Deposit

(TA3,'V politike', 27 July) There is an agreement in the coalition to increase the election deposit for parties running in elections, MP Roman Michelko (Slovak National Party/SNS) said on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday in connection with an amendment to the law on political parties and political movements. On the other hand, he stated, there is no consensus on increasing the quorum needed for a political party to make it to Parliament. MP Gabor Grendel ('Slovakia', 'For the People', KU) stated that in the event of an increase in the deposit, the 'Slovakia' party is in favour of allowing as many political parties as possible to participate in parliamentary elections. The discussion also touched on the salaries of state officials. Michelko expressed the opinion that the remuneration of various state officials is currently "distorted" in Slovakia. According to him, a debate should be opened on their salaries. He pointed out that some civil servants have a higher salary than the prime minister and said that their salaries should be appropriate to the demands of their position. However, he stressed that he wasn't saying that this adjustment should be made by increasing the salaries of constitutional officials. Grendel responded that he agrees with opening this debate, noting that the 'Slovakia' party has repeatedly proposed to freeze MPs' salaries. am