After two years, Slovakia is devastated with high economic deficits. This was stated by the leader of the opposition Slovakian Movement, Igor Matovič, at a Saturday press conference as part of the evaluation of the two years of the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). The former prime minister claims that the three government consolidation packages had no effect and asks how much foreign investment the government managed to attract.
“They told us that we have to be modest in order to improve public finances. The reality is that every year they run a 75 percent higher state budget deficit than we did at the time of the biggest crises.” said Matovič. He claims that “next year, people will pay seven billion more to the budget”, which, according to him, contradicts Fico’s pre-election promises that people “will not be taken”.
Matovič also declared that Slovakia’s rating is at the worst level in the last 20 years. “Rating agencies tell those investors that whether it is safe to lend to Slovakia or not, the worse the rating, the higher interest we have to pay for our debts,” he added. He accused the government of raising taxes and fees for people, but at the same time raising their own salaries.
The chairman of the parliamentary club Slovakia-For the People, Michal Šipoš, drew attention to economic lagging behind Poland. “While Poles once had lower salaries, today they have overtaken us. In Slovakia, food is 40 percent more expensive, economic growth is four times lower, and Polish infrastructure is at an incomparably higher level,” said Šipoš.
The movement also accused the government of destroying the principles of the rule of law. “While under our government, corrupt people ended up in prison, Fico’s set reduces their sentences and protects them,” stated Šipoš. Matovič added that the benevolence of the Criminal Code also leads to lower tax collection and an increase in tax evasion.
In the field of foreign policy, he called Fico’s actions a global shame. “Instead of collaborating with people who are important to us and with partners, he collaborates with the Russians, with dictators, brings us international shame (…), because with any investment, investors look at whether it is safe to put money into that country,” he pointed out.
The movement also criticized the “Papalachism” of members of the government. “This is such contempt for people that the very first decision they will make in the government is to increase their salaries by one hundred percent (…) It was never here for the Minister of Culture to pay for a state ticket because she is going to see her daughter in Florida,” he said.
Opposition Member of Parliament Veronika Remišová (Slovakia-For the People) also criticized the actions of Fico’s government so far. According to her, it is marked by “the impoverishment of the population, the suffocation of the economy and the increase in crime”. “The half-time of her reign is best described by the prime minister himself, when he admits that 85 percent of his time is devoted to solving coalition disputes“, she stated.
He thinks that Slovakia is falling into an ever greater economic and moral morass. “It is therefore in the highest interest of the state that this government be removed from power as soon as possible and replaced by a state-building, democratic and competent alternative,” she added.
