Groehling: KDH's Stance during Vote on Constitution Was Mistake

Bratislava, 5 January (TASR) - Cooperation between the opposition parties in Parliament is standard, but the position of the opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) during the parliamentary vote on the latest amendment to the Slovak Constitution was a mistake, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) leader Branislav Groehling has said in an end-of-year interview for TASR. "We have standard cooperation among the opposition parties in Parliament. We're able to agree on individual votes or on protests. As for the vote on the constitutional amendment, I maintain that it was a mistake on KDH's part. We warned that the amendment would be followed by infringement moves by the European Commission, that there was a threat of a lawsuit, which eventually appeared. Our colleagues from KDH bear direct responsibility for this," stated Groehling. Groehling also criticised the fact that the Christian Democrats supported the constitutional amendment even though it was sponsored by the government. "If some conservative voters are dissatisfied with KDH's actions, then in SaS there are some moderate conservatives who have a clear position that no one should engage in doing deals, voting or bargaining with Smer-SD on anything," he added. The government's amendment to the Constitution was approved by Parliament with 90 votes in late September. It was backed by all MPs from the KDH caucus except for Frantisek Majersky and Frantisek Miklosko. It was also supported by three MPs who worked in the then caucus of the 'Slovakia' party, For the People and Christian Union (KU). KDH leader Milan Majersky described the constitutional amendment as fulfilling the value framework and programme of KDH. He argued that the position during the vote in Parliament wasn't an easy decision for the KDH leadership, as the initial draft was prepared by the government. However, he pointed out that the Christian Democrats managed to push through their own priorities into its final wording. ko/df