Fico: PS Ruling Out Cooperation Is Typical Opposition Theatrics

Bratislava, 29 March (TASR) – Statements by Progressive Slovakia (PS) party excluding post-election cooperation are typical opposition theatrics, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated in a video posted on social media on Saturday (28 March), addressing the current topics including the upcoming Hungarian elections and oil supplies. Commenting on the statements made at the PS congress on Saturday which ruled out cooperation with governing coalition parties Smer-SD, Voice-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS), as well as the extra-parliamentary Republika, he said that "they haven't even been elected yet, let alone won the election, and they are already excluding everyone". "In exchange for PS supporting [Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) chair Milan] Majersky in his bid for Presov region governor, KDH will exclude cooperation with the entire governing coalition and Republika," added Fico, accusing KDH of failing to appreciate the stance of Smer-SD and the coalition, which helped the Christian Democrats to pass changes to the Constitution. In his video, Fico also criticised PS for not addressing scandals involving PS Michal Simecka's family and for allegedly hushing up a case involving former PS MP Martin Pekar, who has donated and lent a considerable amount to PS. "Wasn't this typical money laundering? Didn't Mr Pekar turn up with plastic bags with €400,000 in cash and lend it to PS, so that after the elections PS could return it to him with interest from the state contribution for the election result via a bank account?" asked Fico. Declining to comment directly on public opinion polls, he said he would support scrapping them, as he believes they never correspond to the actual election result. "I remember situations where certain agencies offered us an increase in the polls for the following price: €10,000 for every additional percentage point," he said. In this context, he also mentioned the upcoming election in Hungary, saying that if he were to place a bet, he "would bet on [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban's victory". Fico again criticised the European Commission (EC), which he accused of using double standards and prioritising the interests of Ukraine, citing the suspension of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline. "The EC did nothing to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to act," said Fico, complaining that the "EC even supported him with statements about Ukraine receiving a 90-billion military loan regardless of halted oil or gas transit". As oil supplies through Druzhba have been halted, Slovakia was forced to declare a state of oil emergency and apply dual pricing to protect the domestic fuel market. "And the EC immediately sent us a warning letter, threatening us with all sorts of things. It's strange that the EC doesn't use the same rhetoric when addressing Zelenskyy," remarked Fico. He said that if the EC continues to behave like this while prioritising Ukraine over Slovakia, it must forget about Slovakia's support for the 20th package of anti-Russia sanctions. In addition, Slovakia would not be helpful when it comes to Ukraine's rapid entry into the EU without meeting necessary requirements, added Fico. jrg