SaS and KDH View Extending Current Gov't Term as an Attempt to Cling to Power

Bratislava, 15 October (TASR) - The governing coalition's talk about extending the current term of the government and Parliament is an ill-concealed attempt to cling to power for longer, stated opposition's Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) parties on Wednesday. According to KDH, it is also an effort to distract from opposition criticism of the proposed budget. „They are coming up with yet another ‘idea’ without any expert discussion, aimed at diverting attention elsewhere,” said KDH, adding that “changing the rules in the middle of the game” is unacceptable, whether in local or parliamentary elections. „We do not believe that during this time, when the country is facing major economic challenges, it is reasonable to bring up the issue of extending the term of government or Parliament. We see it as an obvious attempt by the governing coalition to stay in power longer, which is unacceptable for KDH, especially considering the incompetence of this government led by Robert Fico (Smer-SD),” read the statement. SaS vice-chair Maria Kolikova called the idea of extending the government's term as absurd as the earlier discussions about postponing local elections. She emphasised that, in a democratic and lawful state, no election date other than the one outlined in the Constitution is possible. „It’s obvious this government wants to stay in power longer. There’s no other way to interpret it. But on this issue, the Constitution is crystal clear – a four-year term,” Kolikova stated. On Tuesday (14 October), Parliamentary vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) said that he would support extending the government’s term to five years. He noted this was his private and subjective opinion, arguing that four years is too short a time to fulfil the Government Manifesto. The idea of postponing local and regional elections to 2027, after the parliamentary elections, was floated by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) over the weekend during a Smer-SD party congress. He claimed it would be a more practical solution. The Association of Self-Governing Regions of Slovakia is demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister regarding the rationale for such changes. The Union of Slovak Towns has already rejected the possible extension of the current electoral term. According to the leadership of the Association of Slovak Towns and Villages (ZMOS), such decisions should be made before the next elections, not during the current term. The final position of ZMOS is still under discussion. mf