Heads of PS, SaS, KDH and Democrats Agree on Consultations on Future Cooperation

Bratislava, 4 November (TASR) – The leaders of opposition parties Progressive Slovakia (PS), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the non-parliamentary Democrats met on Tuesday to discuss future cooperation, and they agreed to hold consultations on programme priorities with the aim of finding common ground, TASR learnt on the same day. According to PS leader Michal Simecka, there's a need to overcome the crisis that followed the vote on a constitutional amendment, which strained cooperation among the parties. SaS chair Branislav Groehling expressed his hope that Tuesday's meeting will be the first step towards a future government manifesto that will bring a restart for Slovakia. "The leaders of the four opposition parties exchanged views on the current political and social situation. They agreed on a common goal – to replace the government of Robert Fico (Smer-SD) through democratic means," said the leaders in a joint statement sent to TASR by PS's media department. In addition to Simecka and Groehling, KDH chair Milan Majersky and Democrats leader Jaroslav Nad took part in the meeting. The four opposition parties announced consultations on programme priorities in areas such as public finances and economic policy, foreign policy, decentralisation, justice, defence, health care, the environment, education and agriculture "with the aim of finding common ground for future cooperation". According to Simecka, the parties need to speak about professional and stable cooperation and about Slovakia's future after a democratic change from Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) government. "We all know that our cooperation was in crisis after the vote on the Constitution; we must overcome this and speak about the way forward. This is a good start," Simecka wrote on social media. Groehling said that he attended the meeting with the aim of focusing on shared values and issues that unite the parties. "People aren't concerned with secondary topics – they want more money in their wallets, functioning health care and a safe country. Back in February, we in SaS presented our vision for a document that could serve as the basis for a future government manifesto. Our goal is to show that we're ready and capable of governing," the SaS leader wrote on social media. Majersky stated that KDH has a clear plan for improving life in Slovakia. "And that is what I brought to the meeting of the four opposition leaders. KDH is ready to work so that families, employers, the self-employed and all citizens can have a better life in Slovakia," he wrote on social media. According to him, Robert Fico's government isn't improving people's lives, and change therefore requires cooperation among the opposition. mf/df