President: Slovakia Has Better Candidates for Environment Minister Than Kuffa

Bratislava, 30 August (TASR) - If there's to be a change in the post of environment minister, the nominee must be of a higher-quality, President Peter Pellegrini stated this on Sunday in an interview for television channel TA3, adding that there are better-qualified people in Slovakia than Filip Kuffa, the ministry's state secretary who is seen as a possible successor to Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee). Pellegrini also stated that with regard to any changes in individual government posts, he'll firmly insist that they must represent a move towards a positive change and higher-quality work, rather than just political reshuffles. "I think there are better-qualified candidates in Slovakia than State Secretary Filip Kuffa, and there are certainly people in that field who could help calm the debate on environmental protection we're witnessing today," he said. Pellegrini recalled that his role is to ensure that the government remains functional a year ahead of the election. Any changes within the cabinet can't be made just for the sake of maintaining stability, regardless of who is going to fill the post. Personnel changes must move the government forward, he believes. In this case, the coalition must reach an internal agreement on the further course of action, and Pellegrini trusts that Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) will then present a name that won't spark controversy and might also be accepted by the general and expert public. During the interview, Pellegrini also confirmed that he'll deliver the State of the Republic address in Parliament in September and open the major issues resonating with society. SNS leader Andrej Danko said in mid-August that the situation surrounding Environment Minister Taraba is expected to be resolved by 15 September, when the next parliamentary session begins. However, Taraba's relations with the party that nominated him for the post aren't improving, so he'll probably step down, said Danko. He confirmed that the current state secretary at the ministry, Filip Kuffa, should be nominated as the new minister. Taraba, Danko and Fico agreed in May that if no reconciliation took place between the environment minister and SNS, Taraba would step down by the end of September. The agreement at the time brought an end to an open dispute between the party and its nominee. jrg