House Debate on Motions to Dismiss Ministers and Government Ends Prematurely

Bratislava, 5 February (TASR) - MPs have prematurely ended the debate on opposition motions to dismiss several ministers and on the vote of no-confidence in the government, following a proposal to this effect by House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD), TASR reported on Thursday. More than 50 speakers were scheduled to participate in the debate of the total of 67 MPs registered in writing. The debate began shortly before 10 p.m. on Wednesday (4 February) and was originally set to continue without breaks until fully concluded. During the night, the debate was dominated by opposition MPs, who conveyed their objections to the government and individual cabinet members, arguing that the government doesn't serve the public. "Seventy percent of people in Slovakia want this government to resign because it is in fact working only for itself," said MP and leader of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party Michal Simecka, adding that the government works for its own benefit, benefits for its cronies and oligarchs and towards gaining impunity. In their speeches, opposition MPs also referred to scandals involving the current coalition and criticised the government's current foreign policy, as well as the bad economic situation in Slovakia and a loss of trust in the state and its institutions. "People don't trust that the state is looking after their security, and this government has allowed this to happen," said opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Maria Kolikova, asking how people are supposed to respect the law when they can see the coalition changing the rules to avoid justice. The opposition also objected to the fact that the debate was being held jointly on all motions and during the night, while criticising government representatives for not being present in the chamber to hear the criticism. Coalition representatives also took the floor during the night, with Lubica Lassakova (Voice-SD) defending Voice-SD ministers. "Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) has stabilised the police, stopped political manipulation and restored trust in the security forces, just as Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) has stabilised health care," she said, adding that the opposition's motions contain stories rather than facts. Head of the Smer-SD parliamentary caucus Jan Richter spoke after 3:30 a.m., rejecting claims that the government has failed to deliver on its promises, thereby deceiving the voters. According to him, the motion of no-confidence in the government contains many half-truths, untruths and "completely fabricated claims". In his speech, Richter focused mainly on social and economic issues, reiterating that consolidation is necessary. He admitted that the growth of food prices has not been halted, but he stressed that it's slowed down significantly when compared to the period during the pandemic. "The government of Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is taking some measures that are having an impact, perhaps not to the extent that some would imagine, but there are concrete results," added Richter. Parliament started to deal with the dismissal motions more than a year after the first proposal was submitted. The opposition is seeking the ouster of Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party (SNS) nominee), Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee), Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD), Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD), Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) and Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee). The opposition also submitted a motion of no confidence in the entire government more than a year ago. jrg/df