Jakab: Government Breaking Rules and Manipulating Inflation Data

Bratislava, 13 February (TASR) - The government is violating legislative rules, abusing Parliament to push through amendments unrelated to the laws under discussion, and misleading the public when presenting data on prices and living standards, opposition MP and member of the parliamentary finance committee Julius Jakab ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) stated on Friday. The MP criticised the procedure for discussing the amendment to the Banking Act. Parliament approved the legislation on Thursday evening (12 February), even though 15 unrelated amendments had been attached to it. "These are addenda, and they are prohibited. The governing coalition has simply decided to turn the House, the Constitution, and all laws into a tear-off calendar," he stressed. Jakab also criticised Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) for his recent presentation of data on food inflation. According to him, the minister is boasting about low price growth, even though the reality is different. "It's an absolute lie. Minister Kamenicky is a door-to-door salesman," said the opposition MP. According to him, the presented data is inaccurate for several reasons. The first is a change in the methodology for calculating prices, and the second is the exclusion of beverages from food inflation. "They are comparing food without beverages, and it is precisely beverages that have been subject to extra taxes. If they were included, we would have inflation above the European Union average," opined Jakab. am/df