PM: If Constitutional Amendment Doesn't Pass on Thursday, We'll End This Topic/2

Bratislava, 25 September (TASR) - If the government's amendment to the Constitution doesn't pass the final vote on Thursday, Smer-SD will abandon the issue, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has announced, adding that this is the last time when 42 Smer-SD MPs are ready to support such a constitutional amendment. If the amendment is supported by 78 coalition MPs, the coalition will have done its job 100 percent, stated Fico, noting that Voice-SD MP Jan Ferencak is practically no longer in the coalition. According to Fico, there will be no secret ballot after all. "There will be no secret ballot, there will be a normal public vote," said the premier. Head of the Smer-SD parliamentary caucus Jan Richter explained that they wanted to allow opposition MPs from the 'Slovakia', 'For the People', KU caucus to freely support the constitutional amendment by voting by secret ballot. As the 'Slovakia' party had already announced that its MPs won't participate in a secret ballot, such a proposal is irrelevant, said Richter. "For the last time you see 42 Smer MPs ready to vote for such a constitutional change. We won't be blackmailed, we're the governing party, we're responsible not only for running the state, but also for the appropriate value-anchoring of the state," said Fico, pointing out that the coalition today has practically only 78 MPs. According to him, everything is ready, consulted also at the international level. The premier noted that the coalition gave way to the opposition when amendments from the Christian Democrats (KDH) and the Christian Union (KU) were included in the amendment. "This is the last moment when 42 MPs are willing to make available practically half of a constitutional majority," he stressed. Fico added that if the amendment doesn't pass, Slovakia will lose a historic chance. Smer-SD, he said, can't accept anyone rejecting the proposal just "because it's Smer-SD, because it's the government". As Ferencak has said that he won't support the consolidation package, Fico believes that he's practically leaving the Voice-SD caucus, although he doesn't know how the matter will be formally decided. He claims that the Voice-SD parliamentary caucus has already broken up, as a fourth MP is on his way out now. "If the amendment to the Constitution doesn't pass today, we'll have no chance until the end of the electoral term," reiterated Fico, adding that he sees no point in dragging out the decision on amending the Constitution. According to him, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has confirmed that the constitutional protection of traditional values and sovereignty is in line with international standards. "The draft constitutional amendment reinforces a restrictive stance on adoption, favours heterosexual married couples and significantly raises the bar for future legal reforms by enshrining these provisions in the Constitution. This in itself doesn't contravene European standards," the prime minister quoted the commission as stating. am/df