The coalition itself must find a way to adjust mutual relations so that Slovakia does not face a government crisis. This was stated by the Slovak President Peter Pellegrini in the STVR show O 5 minut 12, who at the same time denied that he himself or his office would give an excuse to destabilize the government. “I don’t participate, I don’t think, and I don’t even want to provoke a government crisis, I’m not interested in appointing an official government,” the president emphasized. “I have enough other things to attend to than organizing a coup in the government coalition,” he emphasized.
Pellegrini described Saturday’s (December 14) statements by SNS party chairman Andrej Danek, who hinted at such intentions of the head of state, as “imagination in which Mr. President lives”. He is convinced that it is Danko himself who should focus on maintaining the stability of the government coalition in his actions and behavior. He also denied Danko’s statements about bad relations with the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico (Smer-SD). “We have completely standard communication with each other,” he declared.
He also follows the events in his home page Hlas-SD. He regrets the disagreements that weaken the party’s position as a unified and stable partner in the coalition. “I believe that the Christmas holidays and the time until the February meeting will be used in Hlas to adjust relations and overcome disagreements,” he said.
He also commented on the issue of the amendment to the law on non-profit organizations, including the regulation of lobbying. “I have great respect for the third sector, I agree with the part where there is talk of perhaps greater transparency,” stated the head of state regarding the draft amendment. He agrees to such an adjustment so that everyone can know from which financial contributions the organization lives. “On the contrary, I will not be able to identify with the fact that we somehow stigmatize and label a specific non-profit organization,” he said, adding that he would wait for the final wording.
The President believes that in the event of a conflict in Ukraine, all parties involved will sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible. “However, it must be said completely realistically, and nobody in Europe who thinks normally today thinks that it will be possible to establish peace without the territorial losses of Ukraine.” he stated.
In the context of the possible development of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the overall geopolitical situation, he also placed the announced visit of the Prime Minister of the SR Robert Fico to Moscow during the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. “We’ll see under what circumstances this trip will take place. If it goes there, I see it primarily as honoring the millions of victims that the former Soviet Union sacrificed for Slovakia’s freedom, not as support for the current regime,” he concluded. On the contrary, he considers the trip of the parliamentary delegation to the Russian Duma at the beginning of the year as a useless gesture that will bring nothing to Slovakia.
He criticized the deepening loss of competitiveness and actionability of the European Union (EU), as well as the passivity of its bodies in adopting autonomous positions and solutions in the framework of global challenges. In one breath, however, he emphasized that Slovakia’s future is still firmly anchored in the EU and NATO.
Pellegrini described the first six months as president as rewarding, but at the same time emotionally, psychologically and physically demanding. He announced that he still has several meetings in the pre-Christmas program, on Monday (December 16) one of them is a trip to Poland for a meeting of the presidents of the V4 countries.
