Verbal disputes in the government coalition do not go deep and are far from the chaos of the last election period, when three governments changed and it ended prematurely. Publicist Juraj Hrabko said this on TASR TV.
Photo: TASR, Martin Baumann
President Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister Robert Fico, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Andrej Danko and Minister of the Interior Matúš Šutaj-Eštok before the joint lunch of the leaders of the coalition parties in the presidential palace in Bratislava on September 12, 2024.
According to Hrabek, if the tension between the Slovak National Party and Hlas-SD threatens to escalate, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) will intervene. “He knows how to put order in the government coalition. But the situation, when two parties are arguing and Smer-SD is left out, just suits him,” he added.
According to him, the problem of the government coalition in the last election period was the growing chaos, which resulted in a vote of no confidence in the government and the calling of early parliamentary elections. “Currently, there is no threat of the government or the government coalition collapsing, and certainly not the calling of early elections, for which you need 90 votes in the parliament,” stated Hrabko.
He reminded that Smer-SD has so far led all its governments until regular parliamentary elections, and not a single election period when this party was in government ended prematurely.
According to him, the question is whether the Slovak political scene will be able to offer an alternative to the current government coalition in the long term. “I’m already wondering what will happen when this government coalition ends, whether it will be sooner or later. What is the alternative?” asks Hrabko.
On the sidelines of the prime minister’s negotiations with PS chairman Michal Šimeček and KDH chairman Milan Majerský on the consolidation of public finances, Hrabko noted that it was rational for the prime minister to send a political signal by inviting the opposition, and it was polite for the leaders of the opposition parties to accept the invitation. “If the president, the chairman of the parliament or the government invites, the invitation must be accepted out of respect for the institution, not for the persons who temporarily lead it,” he stated.
Although the prime minister is trying to send signals that he is consulting widely on the consolidation of public finances, not only with the opposition, but also with representatives of various relevant institutions, according to Hrabek, only the government will be responsible for its preparation.
“The government has information from its ministers and other organizations. Non-governmental parties do not have such information,” he pointed out, adding that the opposition party cannot prepare an alternative proposal for consolidation as sophisticated as the government.
According to Hrabek, the prime minister should have invited the Slovakia movement to the meeting. “Everyone can think what they want about Igor Matovič and his movement, but he is not some newcomer in the parliament, the voters got his movement there through the parliamentary elections,” he noted. He added that the other three parliamentary opposition parties cooperate less and less with the Slovakia movement. “The three parliamentary clubs they have are enough for them to submit proposals,” stated Hrabko.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
