President: If Coalition Wants to Remain in Power, It Must Fulfil Its Manifesto

(STVR, 'Sobotne dialogy', 6 December) The only way for the governing coalition to remain in power until the regular parliamentary election is to return to faithfully fulfilling the government manifesto, addressing real problems faced by people, and avoiding internal disputes, President Peter Pellegrini stated on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues). The head of state said that the coalition is not fulfilling its promise of a more peaceful life for Slovak citizens, pointing to the emerging tensions and disputes within the coalition, which, according to the president, are beginning to resemble the previous "quarrelling" government, which it wanted to be the opposite of. "If the government continues to deal with issues that have nothing to do with improving people's quality of life, I think that people's distrust will only deepen," added Pellegrini. He confirmed that he has a professional and constructive relationship with Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). "We know how to communicate professionally," he explained. The president is also monitoring developments in the opposition. He praised its activity, but believes it still has work to do. "I don't think the opposition is in a position today where it has clear leadership and where people could confidently hand over the running of the country to it, because the opposition still has a lot to do, to work on itself in order to inspire confidence," he said, pointing, for example, to the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party raising the issue of the so-called Benes Decrees. "This is precisely the inexperience and clumsiness of the PS political party, which wanted to appeal to Hungarian voters and brought up the topic of the Benes Decrees in such an unprofessional and clumsy manner that it sparked a huge debate," he noted. am