President Won't Appoint Kuffa Yet, Will Wait for Constitutional Court (2)

Bratislava, 27 October (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini will turn to the Constitutional Court regarding the proposal to appoint Environment Ministry State Secretary Filip Kuffa to the post of Environment Minister and won't appoint him until he receives the court's interpretation, the president announced in a statement made at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday. Pellegrini wants the court to establish a framework for the president in appointing members of the government. According to him, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is free to submit a different nomination for minister and, if all requirements are met, the president is ready to appoint the new candidate immediately. "The gist of my motion is to ask the Constitutional Court to establish, through its interpretation, a framework for the president in such disputes between the president and the prime minister over the appointment of government members," said Pellegrini. "In the motion, I seek to establish that the president should have a constitutionally relevant option to examine a proposed candidate for the post of government member based on the information available to the head of state and decide whether to accept or reject the prime minister's proposal," stated Pellegrini, adding that the standards expected of government members mustn't be abandoned, in particular when it comes to integrity of public life. "This isn't a denial of the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence; it reflects the requirement for stricter scrutiny of public officials," he said when stating his reasons for turning to the Constitutional Court. According to Pellegrini, the Constitutional Court's ruling could resolve a recurring dilemma over the scope of presidential powers in this area. "I respect the prime minister's statement that, based on the president's authorisation, he's prepared to continue running the Environment Ministry, meaning that the proper functioning of constitutional authorities isn't in peril at the moment," he added. The president will submit his motion to the Constitutional Court on Wednesday (28 October). "Until its decision, I won't appoint Filip Kuffa as a new member of the government tasked with managing the Environment Ministry. I'll do so only based on the final wording of the Constitutional Court's ruling, which I'll fully respect," said Pellegrini. "If the court confirms that the president has no authority to assess individual nominations for government members, we'll have to respect its ruling and appoint Filip Kuffa as a member of the government. If, however, the Constitutional Court upholds our motion and rules in our favour, my current position will continue to apply, and I'll definitively reject Mr Kuffa's appointment," added Pellegrini. According to Pellegrini, when it comes to such matters, the head of state shouldn't serve merely as a postal worker who "rubber-stamps any proposal from the prime minister". He added that the Constitution assumes coordinated action between the president and prime minister when appointing individual ministers. "I'm convinced that the president can't be expected to appoint a cabinet minister in a situation in which the police have confirmed information concerning potential criminal activity within the proposed candidate's remit," stated Pellegrini. He said that he respects the presumption of innocence, but this isn't about Kuffa being legally eligible as a candidate for the post of cabinet member. "In this case, the point is that if the ministerial post is taken up by the second-highest official at the ministry, within whose remit the police are conducting investigations into five serious criminal offences, it probably wouldn't be the best signal for the people of the Slovak Republic in terms of public governance," stated Pellegrini, adding that it certainly wouldn't contribute towards building public trust in the state and its institutions, either. Pellegrini was also asked why he hasn't assessed politicians or candidates for other constitutional posts in the same way. "Their appointment doesn't fall within the remit of the president of the Slovak Republic, but within those of other constitutional bodies," he replied. Last Wednesday (21 October), the president asked the premier to reconsider Kuffa's nomination as environment minister. He also asked Fico to put forward a new candidate, adding that reports have appeared in the media suggesting the possibility of improper conduct on the part of one of the organisations under the Environment Ministry, the potential mismanagement of Slovakia's assets, and other similar allegations. The premier took note of president's stance but said that he saw no reason to withdraw the proposal to appoint Kuffa as environment minister. The junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) insists on Kuffa's nomination. Kuffa became SNS's nominee for the environment minister post following an escalating dispute between the then minister, Tomas Taraba, and SNS. Taraba was dismissed from his post by the president on 30 September after Parliament had passed a vote of no-confidence in Taraba on the previous day. The head of state temporarily entrusted the premier with running the Environment Ministry. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 10-14. jrg/df