Slovakia is not only threatened by early elections, but also by losses of 1.6 billion euros from the recovery plan – Domestic – News
Currently, thanks to the acquired overwhelming foreign past, it has been possible to change Slovakia from the black hole of Europe, as US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright changed it in 1997, to a Tatra tiger. This epithet was given to Slovakia in 2004 during the second Dzurinda government by the American newspaper New York Times.
Matovič missed his chance to wake up the tiger by buying Sputnik V. The second attempt was premiered by Eduard Heger (OĽaNO). He believed that the proverbial tiger would be awakened thanks to billions from the EU Recovery and Resilience Plan. Today, however, he has to operate with a minority government that wants to enforce something, he has to rely on the votes of the opposition. Heger can rely on only 70 coalition MPs in the parliament. Whether this is the final number is uncertain. MP Tomáš Šudík (OĽaNO) admitted to the Pravda newspaper that his stay in the OĽaNO coalition club depends on developments in the coming days.
Are billions from the recovery plan at risk?
Although Heger’s government managed to achieve the reforms that are necessary to kick-start European investments, nothing tangible has yet been made of them. However, the current political turbulence could start the planned investments.
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“For example, failure to meet certain milestones could jeopardize the submission of entire payment applications. The next payment request in the amount of 815 million euros awaits us this fall, another one in the spring of the same amount. In the case of the second application, the Act on Social Inspection has yet to be approved, which is currently in the second reading in the National Council of the Slovak Republic. If it fails to be approved, Slovakia will not ask the section for a second payment,” admitted Barbora Belovická, head of the communication department of the recovery plan, on behalf of the National Implementation and Coordination Authority at the Government Office.
Therefore, it is most important for the recovery plan that all parties who have been behind the recovery plan so far support the laws, or their amendments, which must be approved in the near future and which are part of the second and third payment requests. “Otherwise, 1.6 billion euros from the recovery plan may be at risk. Continuity in the ministries is also key, so that those who are already involved in the implementation of the recovery plan continue the work they have started. Their departure, or their replacement, can slow down or stop already started processes, i.e. much more than the stated 1.6 billion euros,” she emphasized.
“The European Commission does not comment on internal political events in the member states. In the same way, we do not take a position on hypothetical forecasts, Ingrid Ludviková, spokeswoman for the Commission of the European Representation in the Slovak Republic, told Pravda daily. She specified that if something were on the table where it is possible to clearly pay attention to EU legislation, the European Commission has mechanisms to take a position and request correction.
“As for the Recovery and Resilience Plan, its implementation is the subject of a contract between the European Commission and Slovakia. There are clearly defined rules and before the European Commission is the main fulfillment of milestones. We do not evaluate whether the current political events affect it,” she concluded.
Will the “Mafia” return?
“We will not leave you in the lurch,” said Finance Minister Matovič to the Slovaks after the resignation of the SaS ministers. It is one of the other similar statements, such as “bridesmaids, it will be fine” or “let’s not mess it up”. It wasn’t good and we messed it up. According to him, the liberals will decide how Slovakia will handle the energy crisis. “It will determine how SaS will behave. We now have to make the right decision to protect people,” added Matovič.
Read more Pellegrini: Matovič is the originator of the greatest evil and Prime Minister Heger does not exist
Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď (OĽaNO) is convinced that the collapse of the coalition will lead to early elections, which will lead to the return of the “mafia” and the arrival of fascists.
According to a poll by the Polis agency for Zoznam.sk, Smer won the election and displaced the previous leader of preferences, Hlas, to second place. “Igor Matovič had the opportunity to prevent it if he was not glued to the chair. Everyone spoke to him, artists, commentators, journalists,” emphasized Sulík. if according to him, the coalition lost 20 votes and the government lost four ministers.
Will the opposition recall Matovič?
He will soon face the dismissal of Interior Minister Roman Mikulc (OĽaNO) in the parliament. Sulík openly talks about the possible dismissal of Matovič from the post of Minister of Finance. He claims that if Matovič left the government, the liberals would return.
If the recall of Matovič’s finances were to happen according to “for”, all 21 members of the SaS will vote Sulíka. For now, Sulík’s club has 20 deputies in the parliament, but when the minister in resignation Mária Kolíková (SaS) returns to the parliament, they will get one more. However, according to him, the vote will depend on who submits such a proposal. Liberals voted for the Smer or Hlas proposal. He cannot imagine a proposal for an appeal if the Republic would present it.
Read more Sulík: SaS will vote for the dismissal of Matovič if another party comes up with a proposal
In the vote itself, 76 votes are needed to recall the minister, and Smer chairman Robert Fico told Sulík that he does not want to jump on his bandwagon. “We will not resolve personal disagreements. What idiots does Sulík think we are, that we dismiss Matovič and he returns to the government? I will not jump like on the sand,” declared Fico. He added that Smer can vote for the dismissal of Matovič from the post of finance minister only if the SaS supports the change of the constitution and mutual elections. He said that if he and SaS agreed on elections in the spring, they could consider it.
Does Heger’s government have confidence?
According to former Prime Minister Petr Pellegrini (non-aligned, Hlas), Prime Minister Heger should ask for a vote of confidence in the parliament if he wants to govern in a minority government. According to the leader of Hlas, this would show which deputies support him. Heger should also say who I will work with. “When the prime minister is so decent and doesn’t intend to work with fascists and extremists, let him ask for trust,” he declared in the TA3 V politike talk show on Sunday.
But the prime minister does not think that asking the parliament for confidence is necessary. He claims that a vote of confidence is requested when the government is formed, and it is not mandatory to have it regularly recommended. The prime minister admits that the vote might not stop. According to his words, if he needs the confidence of 70 government members in the parliament, he can immediately resign.
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“I think that at this moment, to go in front of the parliament, where you know you have 70 votes, and to have a declaration of confidence, I can immediately resign. But if I were to resign now, we wouldn’t be able to give people anything. Until the next elections, and I don’t know when they will be, Slovakia was in agony and we didn’t know any of the people. I will not expose Slovakia to such a risk,” said the prime minister during a press conference in Jelka on Tuesday.
The prime minister does not understand why a request for a confidence vote in parliament should be on the table. “It’s not necessary at all. We know that we have 70 votes in the parliament, but we will not run away from the ship when we see that the fastest energy storms are going,” added Heger.
Future early elections?
According to its chairman, Boris Kollár, the We Are a Family movement will support the government as long as it enforces executive amnesty, supports tourism and resolves the energy situation in Slovakia from 2023. However, if there were obstructions in the parliament or the coalition continued to work, according to him, there could not be early elections . “I wouldn’t like it if we were in the crosshairs of ĽS NS,” Kollár reasoned.
“We have to change the constitution in an abbreviated procedure so that the election period in the parliament can be shortened,” declared Pellegrini.
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He claims that they must agree in the parliament to end this electoral period, call for parliamentary elections and other political parties to pledge that until the new government comes, they will support all the laws that will be related to the help of citizens or the help of the industry in the time of the energy crisis. “That would be the fairest, and believe me, that way we could manage it until the new elections, and no one could say that the new elections would take place in a vacuum and people would come hungry. No, we will agree on early elections, we will announce them, but we will support all the laws that relate to helping people and businesses,” explained Pellegrini.