MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 29 March 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 28 March): TRNAVA - Michal Simecka, the leader of the strongest opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) since May 2022, has been re-elected as PS chair for another two-year term at the party's congress held in Trnava on Saturday, receiving support from 191 out of 202 voting delegates while running for the post unopposed. At the congress, PS also ruled out post-election cooperation with the coalition parties Smer-SD, Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS), as well as the extra-parliamentary Republika, citing "the destruction of the rule of law, public finances, the governing coalition's foreign policy orientation, and the overall direction of Slovakia under the current government". PS has also declared its ambition to form a stable government after the next general election. "Having seen unstable and chaotic governance between 2020 and 2023, PS will strive to strengthen the bloc of constructive opposition parties consisting of PS, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), and Democrats," according to a resolution adopted at the congress. In his speech before the vote, Simecka briefly evaluated the movement's progress, highlighting the fact that PS won the most recent European Parliament elections in Slovakia and now has six MEPs. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), President Peter Pellegrini said that the Slovak Constitution should include the possibility of shortening Parliament's electoral term via a referendum. He stated that he is currently reviewing a petition from the extra-parliamentary Democrats party to call a referendum on shortening the current government's electoral term. "If the people have the right to grant power to politicians, they should also have the right to take that power away from them at any time if they break their promises or fail to govern the country as the nation desires," stated Pellegrini. However, he noted that the Constitutional Court has already issued a decision on this matter following a previous motion submitted by former president Zuzana Caputova, ruling that a referendum cannot be used to shorten the electoral term of a government. Therefore, the future of such referendums may have been determined by the Democrats themselves during the government of then-Prime Minister Eduard Heger (currently the vice-chair of the Democrats), because coalition MPs did not support a proposal to amend the Constitution at that time. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini can call a referendum with a clear conscience, but he must truly want to do so, stated the extra-parliamentary Democrats party in response to Pellegrini's claims during STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues) where he said that he was still reviewing a petition from the Democrats calling for a referendum on shortening the current government's electoral term. "On the one hand, the President says he supports the referendum and that he would 'want' it, but simultaneously looks for excuses and someone to blame, so that he can shift the responsibility for not calling it," according to the Democrats. In their statement, they also suggest that Pellegrini's hesitation is linked to his inclination towards the current coalition. According to the Democrats, the current wording of the Constitution allows the head of state to call a referendum incorporating all three questions. TRNAVA - By re-electing Michal Simecka as chairman, the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) has chosen the weakest opponent for Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), opposition 'Slovakia' party leader and former prime minister [2020-21] Igor Matovic told a press conference on Saturday. At the PS congress, Simecka received support from 191 out of 202 voting delegates while running unopposed. "Personally, I think that either [Ivan] Korcok, [Ludovit] Odor, or [Beata] Jurik would have been far better chairpersons for the struggle over the next year and a half. It would always be easier than having Michal Simecka at the helm," said Matovic, adding that it was a democratic decision by the PS congress and that it cannot be questioned. He also criticised Simecka's behaviour towards future potential political partners. "If PS does not lend a helping hand to smaller parties in the next election and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), or the Democrats fail to reach the entry threshold, then Fico will govern regardless of what beautiful or pleasing speeches the newly elected PS chairman delivers at the congress," stated Matovic. According to him, it is Simecka's "sacred duty" to offer KDH, SaS and the Democrats a pre-election coalition similar to the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) formed in 1998. jrg