MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 8 September 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 7 September): BRATISLAVA - I have no information on how MP Jan Ferencak will vote on the constitutional amendment, Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (both Voice-SD) said on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday. The House chair also thinks that the increase in the quorum for pushing through constitutional changes from 90 to 100 MPs won't be greenlighted in Parliament. Leader of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party Branislav Groehling criticised the draft new parliamentary Rules of Procedure and said that the party's MPs won't support it. "They don't want to go to work, they want the meeting to be very quick, let it go quickly, let nobody even care," said Groehling, adding that the code of ethics announced by the coalition will be a 'muzzle' law. Rasi, on the other hand, sees the new Rules of Procedure as a benefit. "They introduce the possibility of using visual aids, after all this is a fundamental thing, where the type, the form is determined, so that MPs can show what they are saying also with help of visual aids," he said. The parliamentary chair also said that he trusts scientists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, who had refuted the claims of Government Proxy for Investigating the Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic Peter Kotlar, by means of an analysis. The SaS chairman said that Kotlar has no business in this post and the most senior constitutional officials should send a clear signal. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini left on Sunday for a working trip to Japan, which will take place on the occasion of the celebration of Slovakia's National Day at the World Expo 2025, the President Office's communications department told TASR on Sunday, adding that as part of the programme in Osaka, the Slovak head of state will attend the official opening ceremony. "The working visit will begin in Tokyo, where the president is scheduled to meet with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and then with representatives of the Japan business federation Keidanren," said the President's Office. Ishiba announced on Sunday that he's stepping down, but he is staying on as prime minister for the time being. During his visit, Pellegrini will also travel to Hiroshima, where he'll meet with the prefectural governor, visit the Atomic Bomb Dome and lay a wreath at the Peace Memorial. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday, Government Proxy for Investigating the Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic Peter Kotlar said that the stability of the coalition is the most important thing, indicating that he might leave his post for the sake of stability. However, Kotlar didn't answer the question directly. He stated that he'd be interested in the post of health minister in case of success in the next election. The government proxy also noted that Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is trying to ensure the stability of the governing majority. According to him, he himself poses a threat to stability. "If I continued to work with the results of my work, the stability of the coalition would be undermined, let's face it," he stated. Concerning COVID-19 vaccines, he said the situation requires him to meet with the prime minister and Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) at the same table. Kotlar also stated that a few months after he took the post, he had prepared a report on the management of the pandemic. Asked what had happened to it, he replied that it was "probably not that substantial". Kotlar repeatedly questioned the importance of vaccinations and reiterated information about vaccines that has been refuted by scientists. BRATISLAVA - The coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) won't support the dismissal of Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) in Parliament, SNS chairman Andrej Danko said on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, adding that the party stands behind the nominations of the coalition partners, however, they will ask the health minister about some issues. Leader of the opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) Milan Majersky thinks that Sasko should be dismissed. "We stand by all of them, by the nominations of our coalition partners. But we want to talk to Sasko," Danko said in connection with the motions to oust several ministers. He doesn't think that Sasko's dismissal would solve the problem in the health-care sector. Majersky agrees that Slovak health care is dying, but in his opinion it is because of the bad management decisions of those who run it. He pointed to the "messing up" of the ambulance service tender, which is being dealt with by the police that have received criminal motions and people are coming in for questioning. "I'm sure that they will be punished and the minister will be dismissed," noted Majersky, expressing his belief that ambulance services should fall under self-governing regions. jrg