Sutaj Estok: Public Quarrels Undermine Coalition Stability

Bratislava, 30 December (TASR) – Public disputes and quarrels don't help the stability of the coalition, Matus Sutaj Estok, leader of the Voice-SD coalition party, has underlined in his end-of-year interview for TASR. Sutaj Estok appealed to the coalition partners to stop arguing among themselves, and he declared that he'll strive for Voice to be a calming and stabilising force within the coalition. "A coalition isn't simple because you don't choose it based on friendship. We're neither a family nor friends. We are coalition parties that decided at the start of the governing term that this grouping would offer the best possible way to push through individual pre-election programmes for the given parties," Sutaj Estok told TASR. He believes that the current governing coalition was the best possible option for Slovakia. "If we had governed with Progressive Slovakia, the minimum wage would never be at almost €1,000 [per month], 13th pensions wouldn't have been paid, and we wouldn't have stopped illegal migration," he said. However, Sutaj Estok again urged coalition representatives to stop quarrelling and sending messages to each other in public, stating that this unsettles voters. "One party leader attacks the president, another the prime minister, then the prime minister breaches the coalition agreement when dismissing a minister. Who does that help? It certainly doesn't help stability," he said. Sutaj Estok declared that he wants Voice to be a calming and stabilising force within the coalition. "We never enter into public disputes. If at some point there's a need to respond, we may have to respond more loudly and sometimes more resolutely as well, but I believe that everyone already understands that this isn't the way to go," he added. mf/df