Resignation of Matovic, Sulik only solution to crisis, says Deputy PM

Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič (Ordinary People/OĽaNO) and Economy Minister Richard Sulík (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) should leave government to avoid early elections, according to Deputy Prime Veronika Remišová (For the People/Za ľudí), who see their resignations as the only solution to the government crisis caused by a row over the Russian Sputnik vaccine.

Slovak government faces collapse amid Sputnik purchase

Slovakia faces a political crisis after two junior coalition parties spoke about leaving the governing coalition over the purchase of two million doses of the Russian vaccine negotiated by Prime Minister Igor Matovič.

The first batch of Sputnik V …

However, according to a recent poll, only 21% of Slovaks trust the current PM, while Sulik has emerged as the government’s most trusted member. According to Remišová, the ongoing conflict between the two triggered the current coalition crisis.

The crisis has so far resulted in the resignation of Health Minister Marek Krajčí who stepped down on Friday.

However, Matovič has blamed partners for demanding what he called an “absurd resignation” of Krajčí during a press conference on Thursday. As a result, the SaS and Za Ľudí Party said negotiations are back to where they started and the crisis is not expected to be resolved until Monday. 

According to Remišová, “early elections would lead to long-lasting chaos,” and a “huge betrayal of the people who gave their confidence to the coalition.” 

(Irena Jenčová | EURACTIV.sk)