Monitor: Gaspar Has No Ambition to Lead Smer-SD, Calls for Younger Successor

(JOJ 24,'Politika 24', 3 May) Speaking on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday, parliamentary vice-chair Tibor Gaspar stated that he has no ambition to become leader of Smer-SD. Gaspar claimed that a younger generation is emerging within the party and one of them should be groomed as a successor to party chair Robert Fico. "Several people are starting to move up through the ranks and coming into their own," he said, adding that current party vice-chair and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak could also be considered. According to Gaspar, the current state of the coalition is not ideal. "The entire governing process has been complicated from the very beginning," he noted, adding that dialogue within the coalition should take place internally rather than in public. Gaspar claimed that Smer-SD will hold talks with non-affiliated MP Jan Ferencak about supporting the governing coalition, which he considers necessary for its stability. The parliamentary vice-chair is also sceptical about plans to merge parties into pre-election national blocs. "The fragmentation of political parties and small parties does not contribute to the stability of the political system. (...) We have had multi-member coalitions that are unstable and find it very difficult to push through programme goals. The fewer political parties in Parliament, the better," he said. He does not believe the Voice-SD party will be absorbed by Smer-SD before the elections. In the autumn elections, Smer-SD intends to seek agreement on joint candidates with its coalition partners. However, talks with Voice-SD on a possible agreement and the future of the Nitra region [from which Gaspar hails-ed.note] have not yet been sufficient, which is why Gaspar has announced his possible candidacy for the post of regional governor. He added that the current governor, Branislav Becik of Voice-SD, is a good candidate, too. In the Presov region, Smer-SD has not yet decided whom it will support. "It's clear that Mr. Majersky must be defeated," Gaspar noted, referring to Milan Majersky, the incumbent governor and leader of the opposition's party Christian Democratic Movement. Gaspar also declared he will attend court hearings in the Purgatory case, in which he is charged. He insists he did not commit the crimes he is accused of and considers his defence arguments sufficient. "The entire process was conducted by biased law enforcement authorities and I believe we will sufficiently demonstrate that what they claim didn't actually happen," he said. According to the parliamentary vice-chair, Slovakia seeks constructive relations with Ukraine for the benefit of both sides. A possible invitation for Prime Minister Robert Fico to Kiev will be assessed in terms of timing and conditions. "It remains to be seen where it will ultimately take place, whether or not on the border between Slovakia and Ukraine, we'll see," Gaspar said. The MP is also expected to travel with the prime minister to Russia, departing on 8 May and returning on 9 May. "We're likely to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin Wall and pay tribute to all those who fell in the fight against fascism and Nazism in the Second World War," he claimed. Talks in Moscow have not yet been confirmed, he added, pointing to two possible travel routes to Russia, either via the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden and Finland, or via a southern route. "If we adapt history to current political conflicts and conditions, we are on the best path to forgetting what our history is and thus setting the future incorrectly. We cannot change historical facts just because the present political situation tells us to behave according to the current situation," Gaspar stated. mf