'Slovakia' Calls on Minister Raz to Resign, Otherwise It Will Propose His Ouster

Bratislava, 11 November (TASR) - The opposition 'Slovakia' party has called on Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) to step down, and if he doesn't, it will seek signatures to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session to oust him, MP Gabor Grendel ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) told a press conference on Tuesday. Grendel added that the reason for this is the two railway accidents near Roznava (Kosice region) and Pezinok (Bratislava region) that have taken place in quick succession. According to the party, it isn't enough for Raz to offer his resignation to Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD). "Dear Minister, a resignation isn't offered, a resignation is submitted. It's absolutely ridiculous and absurd to pretend that you wanted to submit your resignation but the prime minister didn't accept it," said Grendel. The party has given the minister until the end of this week, otherwise, according to Grendel, it will begin collecting signatures among the opposition for a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Raz would thus join several other government ministers whom the opposition has wanted to dismiss, but for which an extraordinary session hasn't yet been opened. MP Julius Jakab ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) criticised Raz for his response on Tuesday to the train accident near Pezinok. According to him, the minister is blaming the previous government, but didn't mention the purchase of engines without ETCS control systems during the previous governments of Robert Fico. In the video, Raz emphasised that the previous government didn't equip any trains with the system between 2020-2023. According to Jakab, a reconstruction schedule was prepared during the government of Igor Matovic ('Slovakia') that is also being followed by the current cabinet. am/df