- Robert Fico convenes a meeting of the three highest constitutional officials.
- Andrej Danko conditions Tarab’s dismissal on the planned reconstruction of the government.
- According to Fico, the reconstruction of the government is not currently being prepared.
- The prime minister warns that a purely partisan dismissal of a minister can destabilize the governing majority.
Prime Minister of the SR Robert Fico (Smer-SD) convenes a meeting of the three highest constitutional officials (president, speaker of parliament, prime minister) after Monday’s (May 25) coalition council and after the meeting with SNS chairman Andrej Danko and environment minister Tomáš Tarab (SNS nominee). The Prime Minister announced this in a video on the social network.
“After the coalition council for the meeting of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, a meeting with the chairman of the Slovak National Party and the Minister of the Environment, I convened a meeting of the three highest constitutional officials at the Government Office,” stated Fico.
According to the prime minister, there will be space for a meeting with the chairman of the SNS, Andrej, at the coalition negotiations on Monday Dankom to go over the procedure in connection with his proposal to remove the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment Tomáš Taraba as the SNS nominee from the government. “For now, the president of the SNS is proposing an impeachment, assuming the reconstruction of the government, which, however, is not being prepared,” remarked Fico.
He claims that under all circumstances he will primarily focus on securing a functional government majority and its readiness to approve the state budget for 2027. “The removal of a member of the government purely for party reasons can lead to destabilization and the loss of the government’s majority in parliament. I have already solved the problem of disputes in the Hlas and SNS parliamentary clubs once, and politically not very neatly, in order to ensure the functionality of the government coalition,” announced the prime minister.
He described Taraba as an important member of the government with high-quality work results. “I now especially need, among other things, the resumption of aluminum production in Žiar nad Hronom, which we have been working on for several months. And the Ministry of the Environment plays a decisive role here,” he pointed out. In the coalition, according to Fico, it is also necessary to talk about the judges of the Constitutional Court and the willingness to combine the Public Procurement Office and the Antimonopoly Office into one office.
“On Monday, I will clearly address the call to the Prime Minister, to which I have the right from the CIS, to request the exchange of ministers with the CIS. I believe that there will not be any conflict again, because then I really don’t understand what the coalition agreement is for.” stated Danko on Saturday in a video on the social network. According to him, the political party is entrusted with the ministry to be able to promote its program. “If I feel that this is not the case, we have the right to propose a replacement of the minister. I see nothing wrong with that. The Prime Minister is obliged to do so according to the coalition agreement.” said the head of the SNS.
As he pointed out, the opposition is also preparing to dismiss the Minister of the Environment and “SNS has every right to act as it feels”. “I want to clearly convey to my colleagues in Smere-SD that if you don’t respect us, we don’t have to be in the parliament, but you will end up badly,” declared Danko.
