Prime Minister Convenes Meeting of Top Constitutional Officials on Monday (2)

Bratislava, 24 May (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has convened a meeting of the president, the parliamentary speaker and the prime minister as the country's top constitutional officials for Monday (25 May) after the Coalition Council session and following a separate meeting with junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee), Fico stated in a video on a social network on Saturday (23 May). According to him, the coalition talks will provide an opportunity to meet with Danko and discuss the steps regarding Danko's proposal to dismiss Taraba. "For now, the SNS chairman is suggesting the dismissal on the assumption of a government reshuffle, which, however, is not being planned," noted Fico. He claims that under all circumstances, his primary focus will be on ensuring a functional governing majority and its readiness to approve the 2027 state budget. "Dismissing a cabinet member purely for party reasons could lead to destabilisation and the loss of a governing majority in Parliament. In the past, I've already stepped in once - politically in a not very elegant way - to resolve disputes in parliamentary caucuses of Voice-SD and SNS just to keep the coalition running," stated Fico, describing Taraba as an important member of the government with good results. "What I really need right now, among other things, is to resume aluminium production in Ziar nad Hronom (Banska Bystrica region), which we've been working on for several months. And the Environment Ministry plays a decisive role in this," he pointed out. Fico noted the coalition also needs to discuss the issue of Constitutional Court judges as well as the willingness to merge the Public Procurement Office and the Anti-monopoly Office into a single institution. Responding to Fico's statements, Danko posted his video later on Saturday, saying that he will clearly present his request to Fico on Monday to replace SNS ministers, as he's entitled to do so on party's behalf. "I hope that this will not turn into another conflict again, because otherwise I really don't understand what the coalition agreement is for," said Danko, adding that political parties are given ministries to carry out their programmes. "If I feel that this is not the case, we have the right to propose the replacement of a minister. There's nothing wrong with that. Under the coalition agreement, the Prime Minister is obliged to comply," said Danko. As he noted, the opposition is also planning to dismiss Taraba, and "SNS has every right to act as it sees fit". "I want to send a clear message to our colleagues in Smer-SD: if you do not respect us, we don't have to be in Parliament, but you will end up badly," stated Danko. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final five paragraphs jrg