- Peter Pellegrini evaluated the development of Hlasu-SD and the direction of the party.
- The President questioned the current unity and consistency of Hlas-SD.
- He criticized the opposition bloc for a lack of leadership and programmatic consistency.
Koaličný Hlas-SD should ask whether it is continuing the line of the party of experts, which will also balance the steps of the coalition, or is deviating somewhere. This was said by Peter Pellegrini, the founder of Hlasu-SD and the current president of the Slovak Republic in the Sunday talk show of TV TA3 In politics. He also evaluated the work of the opposition, where he still does not see a proper leader. The head of state perceives the performance of the two ministers adopted by Smer-SD as embarrassing. According to him, the coalition parties should devote as little as possible to themselves, but devote as much energy as possible to the citizens.
“As the founder of the Hlas party, I am not always sure whether the Hlas has ever deviated from the path that I laid out and indicated,” declared Pellegrini. According to his words, he founded Hlas-SD as a party of experts who will be able to balance the coalition’s actions if the coalition wants to take the country “somewhere” or do things that may not always suit the majority of society.
“I think that this is the basis of the party of reason, the party that is supposed to be the guarantor of professionalism, expertise, decency. And now Hlas must ask himself, headed by Mr. Chairman, whether they are going in this line or are deviating.” he added.
Pellegrini he also does not understand if Ján Ferenčák, a member of the Slovak National Council, left the Hlasu-SD parliamentary club, but wants to stay in the party. “I think that people who speak one language, have one point of view and present some unity should remain in the party, but that again depends on how the Hlas party approaches it,” he said. He thinks that the coalition continues to count on the fact that Ferenčák will support it as a deputy.
According to the head of state, Peter Kmec, who resigned from the post of deputy prime minister for the recovery plan and the knowledge-based economy, has all the prerequisites to become the ambassador in Rome. “If such a proposal comes to my table, I, as the president, who has the final say in the appointment, I can plainly say that I will have no problem with sending Mr. Kmec to the post as a really top diplomat,” he declared.
He added that the functioning of the vice-president’s office, which Kmec headed, is time-limited, so either it will function until the end of the election period or its agenda will be divided between the ministries of economy and education and there will be no need to appoint a new chief. However, it is up to the decision of the coalition and Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD).
According to the president, the prime minister is determined to rule by the regular election date. “This is also evidenced by these experiments – transfers in the government coalition, when we have ministers who have been adopted by Smer,” he said, adding that he could not name the moments of the two ministers adopted by Smer-SD when they would do something extraordinary for the people in the departments. “On the contrary, I’m waiting, watching and wondering if they’ll actually deliver something to people in 2026 and have something to brag about. So far, I consider the performance rather embarrassing,” he added.
The president views opposition alliances based only on “protest against something” critically, because it is not enough for stable governance in the future. In the current opposition, he does not see a connection on the basis of a program or a proper leader.
