MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 4 May 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 3 May): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) wants to use Tuesday and Wednesday (May 5-6) to seek agreements on pro-growth measures within the coalition, with the first legislative proposals expected at the May-June parliamentary session. Fico said this in a video on social media. "These will essentially be measures without an impact on the state budget and measures where we already planned some expenditure," he noted. However, Fico does not want to present partial proposals until they are agreed by the governing coalition. According to Fico, the coalition is also working on options for a joint approach in municipal elections. "Where appropriate and possible, I would welcome a bloc of parties with similar views on local and regional challenges and a suitable candidate in these elections," the prime minister said. He believes independent candidates and strong personalities are going to dominate the autumn elections. The prime minister also announced that Slovakia will not take part in any further announced loans for Ukraine. He pointed out that Slovakia is Ukraine's neighbour, which obliges it to conduct dialogue and seek solutions that do not harm Slovak-Ukrainian relations. The format of joint government meetings is, in his view, a good tool to support mutually beneficial projects. "Relations between me and the Ukrainian president are marked by fundamentally different views on several issues, such as the war in Ukraine, halted gas transit, or military loans. It is well known worldwide that as prime minister I refused to support the latest €90 billion war loan for Ukraine and took legal steps to ensure Slovakia will not participate in it," Fico said. He underlined that it is in the country's national interest to route oil and gas transit through Ukraine to Central Europe using Slovakia's transport network. Fico added that the coalition has never discussed Ukraine's membership of the EU, and he respects that there may be opposing views within the coalition on this issue. "Following the climate in the EU, I can state that the countries most opposed to Ukraine's EU membership will be those that are the biggest supporters of Ukraine in the war against Russia. It is a harsh paradox that Ukraine must take into account," the prime minister said. If Ukraine does not have prospects for stable and democratic development after the war, mercenaries from Ukraine may, in his view, turn to organised crime, which can spill over into the EU. BRATISLAVA - 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. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, parliamentary vice-chair and leader of the Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko claimed that he remains convinced that voting from abroad should take place on the same day as elections held in the country, whereas parliamentary vice-chair Martin Dubeci (Progressive Slovakia), also on the show, believes that the coalition is trying to change the rules only because it fears Slovak voters living abroad. "The problem is that voting does not take place on one day. That's a legal issue — during a campaign, voting must be held on a single day," Danko underlined. He acknowledged that there are countries where voting is not held on the same day, but stressed that there are also those where it is. Slovakia, he said, will be among the countries where voting takes place on one day. He added that the issue could be resolved in the future through online voting. Dubeci argued that the governing coalition is attempting to alter the electoral system because it fears how Slovaks abroad vote [the majority of them cast their votes for Progressive Slovakia in 2023-ed.note], and described it as a restriction of their voting rights. Dubeci sees no reason for change, noting that the procedure has not been challenged for decades and that there has always been interest in voting from abroad. "Why can't we agree not to tamper with the electoral system?" Dubeci asked, not ruling out further possible interventions by the coalition. am