PM Withdraws from Discussion Show, Wants Slovakia to Have Politics-free Weekend2

Bratislava, 15 May (TASR) - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has cancelled his participation in STVR's political discussion programme 'Saturday Dialogues', which should have been broadcast this weekend (16 May), the Government Office's press department has informed TASR. Fico did so in connection with the anniversary of the assassination attempt against him, adding that he wants Slovakia to have at least one weekend without politics. House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar and Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (both Smer-SD) have joined the premier's initiative by cancelling their participation in discussion programmes that should have been broadcast on TA3 and STVR on Sunday. At the same time, they called on the political opponents with whom they were supposed to engage in debate to join them in giving Slovakia at least one politics-free weekend. This didn't sit well with the opposition, though, with Progressive Slovakia (PS) leader Michal Simecka claiming that Fico decided to withdraw indicted parliamentary vice-chair Tibor Gaspar from a televised debate scheduled with him. "Robert Fico withdrew the indicted Tibor Gaspar from Sunday's debate with me. He also withdrew Richard Takac, because he wants peace from politics," said Simecka. "I would tell him that if he wants peace from politics, he should pack up and leave. Or he should stop being a coward and accept my challenge to a duel," he added. The opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) claimed that political debate is an absolute cornerstone of every functioning democracy. "In a healthy society, it's the basic duty of politicians to stand before the public and defend their decisions with arguments. While the Christian Democratic Movement always debates professionally and constructively, it is the Smer-SD party that has long been bringing hatred into the public sphere," stated KDH. "We cannot allow one party to dictate the conditions of political debates and hide in a cowardly manner from them simply because it can no longer defend its incompetent governance," added KDH, stressing that it's ready to take part in a debate at any time. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final four paragraphs mf/ko/df