Michelko: Early Election Unlikely, SNS Won't Topple This Gov't

Bratislava, 28 December (TASR) - Early parliamentary elections cannot be completely ruled out, but this is a very unlikely scenario, Roman Michelko, chair of the coalition's Slovak National Party (SNS) parliamentary caucus, has said in an interview with TASR. According to Michelko, the Slovak National Party is constructively and factually critical of some proposals, including those of its coalition partners, but he stressed that it will not bring down the current government and neither will MPs centered around Tourism and Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak (independents) block Parliament. In Michelko's view, Huliak certainly does not want the governing coalition to collapse. "We know what our responsibility is. There is a strong will to complete the entire electoral term. As for the MPs around Huliak, I can imagine they may not support a particular bill, but I do not expect them to block parliamentary proceedings or engage in obstruction," Michelko told TASR, adding that there's always room to discuss substantive objections, if any arise. "I think Huliak will think very carefully about whether he would engage in a level of obstruction that could endanger the coalition. I believe his political future is very uncertain and he certainly has no interest in seeing this coalition end," he added. In addition, Huliak still wants more bills to get passed, thinks Michelko. mf