'Slovakia' to Back Simecka's Coalition If Politicians Have Pay Cut by Half (2)

Bratislava, 17 March (TASR) - The opposition 'Slovakia' party will only support any future coalition led by opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party chair Michal Simecka if politicians' pay is cut by half for as long as they continue to burden Slovakia with debt, said party leader Igor Matovic on Tuesday. He added that this would apply to the president, prime minister, ministers and MPs, whose decisions determine whether the country incurs debt or lives within its means. He and MP Julius Jakab ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) both blasted the government and the president for "outrageously" increasing salaries and flat-rate allowances amidst consolidation efforts and at a time when people's living costs are rising. "Food and energy prices are higher, but they shamelessly increased their own pay by 100 percent," said Matovic, adding that the current coalition has failed to deliver on its cost-reduction promises made in the run up to the general election. "These are the kind of people running the country, which is why we've included this condition in our Prevrat 2027 (Revolution 2027) project. We proposed a solution via which politicians' pay should be cut by half for as long as they keep burdening Slovakia with debt," he added, warning that the country would otherwise continue to accumulate debt endlessly. Since October 2025, the 'Slovakia' party has been publishing a monthly question on its prevrat2027.sk website concerning a specific proposed solution for the country, asking people to vote on them. It plans to continue doing this until the next parliamentary elections and intends to transform the solutions that gain support into legislative changes under a new government. The 'Slovakia' party also pointed out that while MPs' salaries were only symbolically adjusted, the salary freeze didn't apply to the president or ministers. On the contrary, their incomes are rising based on the current average salary. "The president's salary is set to increase by approximately €1,100 per month, which is what many people in Slovakia cannot earn in an entire month. The prime minister will see an increase of more than €400, and ministers of three hundred," stated Jakab. "While people in some regions receive less than a thousand euros in their bank accounts, the president is on around €20,000 per month," he added. As confirmed by the President's Office's communications department for TASR earlier on Tuesday, the president will donate any increase in his current salary to the League against Cancer. "I appreciated the fact that, at a time of public finance consolidation, MPs agreed last year to freeze their salaries for the next two years. However, in the final version of the law, they exempted the president, members of the government, the prosecutor-general, judges and other state officials from the salary freeze. Therefore, I'll donate any increased amount directly to the League against Cancer," stated Pellegrini. PS leader Simecka described as "vulgar" the fact that ministers and government members will see their flat-rate allowances rise by several hundred euros per month at a time of consolidation, rising poverty and mass lay-offs. "Prime Minister Robert Fico is already one of the best-paid prime ministers in the European Union, second only to [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban in proportion to the average salary in the given EU country," said Simecka, adding that the government has brought the economy to its knees over the past two and a half years, with the country facing recession and major investors leaving. "The budget deficit is slowly becoming bigger than when they took over, meaning that consolidation has been completely wasted. Higher taxes, levies and VAT are hampering economic growth," remarked Simecka, adding that several government members don't deserve higher pay in view of their level of performance. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final seven paragraphs jrg/df