The mounting rift between Slovakia’s ruling parties, SNS and Hlas-SD (NI), shows no signs of abating as parties air their differences in the media, and Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD/NI) refuses to intervene publicly.
In recent days, Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko has launched several public attacks against the Hlas party and all its ministers, accusing them of “failing” in their roles. He even claimed that Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas) ‘s position was “unsustainable.”
While he declared that remaining part of the ruling coalition was “the lesser evil compared to letting the leading opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS/RE) take power“, his comments have sparked tension and backlash from his coalition partner.
Since then, both parties have held several press conferences and taken to social media to respond to each other’s accusations.
“A coalition is only as strong as its weakest link. I believe that Andrej Danko will realise who the weak link is and will avoid his erroneous assumptions and undermining of the stability of the entire coalition in the future,” Hlas leader and Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said in response.
Among the three coalition parties, SNS obtained the lowest voter share (5.6%) in the 2023 parliamentary elections. Hlas received 14,6% and Smer 22,9%.
Labour Minister Erik Tomáš (Hlas), who was also targeted by Danko, even said that the dispute “is no longer just a conflict between Hlas and SNS, but it now affects the entire governing coalition“.
“The key to calming the situation is in the hands of Prime Minister Robert Fico,” Tomáš said.
Fico, for his part, has so far remained silent, saying only that “arguments are normal within families“.
Expert: Coalition will survive, but with major issues
Although tensions are high, political scientist Radoslav Štefančík told Euractiv Slovakia that he does not expect these disputes to lead to the collapse of Fico’s government.
“Andrej Danko himself has stated that he does not want to dissolve the government, only to gain some respect, which he seems to lack,” Štefančík explained, adding that “neither the ruling coalition nor Danko wants to experience the period in opposition again”.
Štefančík pointed out that the SNS is currently polling below the threshold for re-election, with just 1.9% in the 2024 EU elections, so “Danko is trying to make himself more visible”.
The expert recalls that Danko had behaved similarly in the past, notably when he terminated a coalition manifesto overnight during Fico’s third government.
“This time, however, he is more aggressive because he firmly believes he deserves the position of Speaker of the Slovak Parliament,“ Štefančík told Euractiv Slovakia.
The SNS and Hlas have been at loggerheads over parliamentary speaker pick since Peter Pellegrini’s April presidential election victory. Pellegrini, the leader of Hlas and until then served as the parliamentary speaker, has yet to be replaced in the latter role.
While the SNS insists that Danko deserves the role, Hlas refuses to budge, arguing that the speaker position is guaranteed to them in the coalition manifesto.
Despite all the discontent, Štefančík concludes that “the coalition will continue to function, albeit with major problems”.
(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)
Source: euractiv.com
