SaS Urges President to Veto Consolidation Bill

Bratislava, 26 September (TASR) – The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party called on President Peter Pellegrini on Friday to veto the government's consolidation package for next year, criticising its content and accusing the government of impoverishing people and bypassing the proper legislative process, TASR learnt on the same day. According to statements from SaS MPs, the party believes that the package will harm Slovakia's economy and social fabric. "We urge the president to veto the package because it will impoverish people, halt economic growth and was passed via a fast-tracked legislative process during which the coalition repeatedly restricted the debate and our constitutional right to speak. If President Pellegrini doesn't veto the consolidation package, he'll bear direct responsibility for the impoverishment of people, a decline in living standards and problems faced by businesses both large and small, essentially to the detriment of Slovakia," said MP Marian Viskupic (SaS). Viskupic emphasised that the proper legislative procedure was circumvented when Parliament approved the package on Wednesday, 24 September. "The governing coalition had an entire year to prepare the consolidation, but chose to push it through via fast-tracked proceedings filled with absurdities. The package was presented to the social partners – trade unions and employers – only after it had already been approved by the government and was under discussion in Parliament," argued Viskupic. He added that if President Pellegrini were to sign the bill, it would send out a signal that he supports the erosion of parliamentary democracy in Slovakia. In addition, SaS urged the president to take action regarding director of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) Pavol Gaspar. The party called on him to take all necessary steps to ensure that Gaspar is removed from office. MP Maria Kolikova (SaS) criticised Gaspar for allegedly involving himself in political battles, claiming that he obeys instructions from the coalition and provides classified information to his father and House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD). "SIS isn't politically independent under Gaspar’s leadership," stated Kolikova. mf/df