Sutaj Estok: Voting to Dismiss Migal Would Violate Coalition Agreement (2)

Bratislava, 22 October (TASR) – Voting for the dismissal of a minister from any coalition party would constitute a breach of the coalition agreement, said Matus Sutaj Estok, leader of the junior coalition Voice–SD party, at a press briefing regarding Thursday's (23 October) parliamentary vote on an opposition proposal to dismiss Independent minister Samuel Migal from his post as Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation Minister. However, Sutaj Estok emphasised that this does not mean Voice–SD is without criticism of Migal's performance. "I think it would be difficult to find a Voice MP who doesn't feel the itch to vote during this session. I'll set aside Mr. Migal's comments, which seem personal and which he cannot get over – attacks on the president, the parliamentary chair and myself. I don't even follow them any more. Politics cannot be taken personally – if you do this, you're behaving like a child. But we also bear responsibility for this government. We are aware of the political situation," added the Voice–SD chair. According to him, Voice–SD aims to remain a stable member of the governing coalition. "We respect the fact that political responsibility for Mr. Migal, following the coalition agreement addendum, lies with the Smer-SD party. According to the coalition agreement, voting for the dismissal of a minister from any coalition party would be a violation. However, that doesn't mean we don't have objections to Mr. Migal's work – but these are not personal criticisms," he underlined. Sutaj Estok noted that mayors and local leaders launched a successful Shared Services Centre project, intended to unite municipalities and save public funds by having larger towns provide services to smaller ones. "Mr. Migal, because the project originates from the Interior Ministry and incumbent parliamentary chair Richard Rasi (Voice–SD), refuses to finance these municipalities," he stated. "Like every minister in this government, Mr. Migal has a duty to stand before journalists and the public to explain things that appear non-transparent or unclear. We understand the political reality, we bear responsibility for the stability of this government, and we respect the nominee of the Smer party, even though we have reservations about his performance. We'll address these concerns to our coalition partners so that the minister will carry out his duties for the benefit of Slovakia, its people and its regions," said Sutaj Estok. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 6-8 mf/df