Monitor: Fico: SNS and Taraba Must Settle Their Feud by End of September

(STVR, 'Sobotne dialogy', 29 August) The junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee) must settle their political differences by the end of September, and if they fail to do so, Taraba will make a political gesture, as already agreed, said Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), describing Taraba as a good minister. "According to the coalition agreement, this post belongs to SNS. As the chairman of another coalition party and prime minister, I'm obliged to respect coalition agreements," said Fico, who added that he would speak to both Taraba and SNS about the situation, while calling on both sides to keep Taraba in his post. Fico went on to say that there'll be no swapping of ministries, reiterating that the coalition agreement clearly specifies which party owns which portfolio. Regarding the foiled arson attack on a drone manufacturing plant in eastern Slovakia, Fico said that he's ready to convene the Slovak Security Council, if necessary. According to him, Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) director Pavol Gaspar has repeatedly informed him about the steps taken in the case. "They monitored the entire compound and the potential perpetrators. Ultimately, the operation based on international cooperation was completed successfully," said Fico, describing this as proof that SIS is functioning. He also commented on Slovakia's bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2028-2029, saying that Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) is waging "a huge offensive" in this regard. According to him, this issue is also part of Fico's agenda during foreign visits, and the responses have been very positive. Fico expects significant reforms to take place at the UN, and it would be good for Slovakia to be part of this during the 2028-2029 term. He believes that Slovakia's candidacy has a strong chance of success. "But I don't want to count our chickens before they are hatched," he said. Regarding the upcoming local elections, the premier said that it would be a success if Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee), who is running as an independent candidate, won the mayoral election in Bratislava. "That would be a huge defeat for liberalism and progressivism in Bratislava," he stated. While speaking on the programme, he also confirmed that the cabinet is preparing another joint session with the Ukrainian government, this time in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, but the date hasn't beet set yet. jrg/df