Danko Is Convinced that President Won't Sign Gambling Act Amendment

Bratislava, 24 October (TASR) - The coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) didn't want the amendment to the Gambling Act sponsored by Tourism and Sport Minister Rudolf Huliak (Independent) to pass in Parliament on Thursday (23 October), Slovak National Party (SNS) chairman Andrej Danko stated at a press conference on Friday, adding that he's convinced that President Peter Pellegrini won't sign the amendment. The coalition agreement didn't allow SNS to vote against it in this case, which is why its MPs abstained. But if the entire opposition had taken part in the vote, the amendment wouldn't have passed, added Danko. "Of course, SNS didn't want the law to pass despite the pressure that was put on us by the premier [Robert Fico (Smer-SD)], after his agreement with Mr Huliak. We clearly addressed our reservation to it," said Danko. Danko stated that he's curious to see how the president will react to the approved amendment. "Because if he signed this law, as I know him, he'd find it very difficult to explain and Peter Pellegrini is not a man who gets his hands dirty. So I'm convinced that he won't sign it, despite the fact that there will be a lot of pressure on him as well," stated Danko. According to him, the current disagreement in the coalition doesn't mean anything serious, only that there are three coalition parties that have their own policies and their own responsibilities. "So in terms of relations, we're certainly not going to make anybody happy that the coalition is now going to fall apart. Today is a new day, the sky hasn't fallen, life goes on," added the SNS leader. am