Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova will appoint a caretaker government on led by the economist and National Bank of Slovakia vice-chair Ľudovít Ódor on 15 May, after Acting Prime Minister Eduard Heger handed in his resignation over the weekend.
Heger resigned after now-former Agriculture Minister Samuel Vlčan and former Foreign Minister Rastislav Káčer stepped down last week. While Vlčan resigned after it was made public that his company received a controversial EU grant while in public office, Káčer resigned because Heger had refused to resign in a previous television speech.
Heger, who was also in charge of the finance and health ministries before giving up his post, eventually resigned before meeting with Čaputova on Sunday, admitting that if he did not step down, the president would have stripped him of his mandate. He even offered the president another solution, but she refused, he added.
Regarding the new caretaker government, Čaputová did not disclose any names of the new cabinet besides Ódor but noted that the cabinet was mainly selected according to expertise and the promise that the new caretaker ministers would not be running in the general elections in September. The new cabinet should consist of both conservatives and liberals so it has a chance of gaining a majority in the National Council.
“Since I had to be prepared for the possibility of a caretaker government, a team of new people is ready,” the president said, noting that the new government will only be appointed next week because the new ministers still need to finalise their commitments in their current positions.
“Half a year is long enough for a government of experts to stabilise and bring Slovakia to early elections,” said Čaputová added – though some, like National Council Speaker Boris Kollár (We are Family), expect chaos in parliament to continue.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders and former prime ministers Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Peter Pellegrini demand that elections be held in July.
“We call on all political parties to end this chaos and pass a July date for early elections in parliament. It is the only way to end the chaos,” Pellegrini said.
It is, however, unlikely that a proposal for an earlier election date will be successful.
(Michal Hudec | EURACTIV.sk)
Read more with EURACTIV
Madrid’s regional president would prefer to govern alone if re-elected
Source: euractiv.com
