Simecka: Bang Is Guide to Restarting Slovakia's Economy

Bratislava, 4 September (TASR) - The Bang is a guide to restarting Slovakia's economy, stopping its decline and raising the standard of living of all people, chairman of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) Michal Simecka said at an economic conference in Bratislava called Bang. "The real challenge will be to reverse 14 years of total underdevelopment and decline under the Smer-SD governments. And that's exactly what Bang is about. It is a guide to a new economic model to raise living standards, to restore trust in the state and institutions. So that people will gradually start coming back to Slovakia. And after the next election we may have the last chance to do that," pointed out Simecka. According to him, there are still many people from various social areas in Slovakia who aren't indifferent to the fate of Slovakia. He said the cooperation of the political opposition is also a source of hope that Slovakia's economy will be kick-started. "I'm referring to our closest partners, SaS [Freedom and Solidarity], KDH [Christian Democrats] and the Democrats. Over the last two years we've come closer and united on a number of projects. In all parties I see top professionals and true patriots. I'm sure that our four parties can form a stable government. That's why I'll soon propose to the partners that we move forward and create a common platform for regular coordination at the political and professional levels," said the PS chairman. Simecka added that PS is ready to defeat Smer-SD and form a better government for Slovakia. The answer to the doubts whether the party is ready, according to him, is Bang. "MEP and former [caretaker] prime minister Ludovit Odor and MP Stefan Kiss, two of Slovakia's best economists, worked on the document and consulted with dozens of experts from the field," he added. am/mcs