In the Slovak parliament, 78 out of 150 deputies voted without confidence in Eduard Heger’s government. Who will govern in the future – and whether there will be new elections now depends mainly on President Zuzana Čaputová.
The Slovak government lost a no-confidence motion on Thursday. The parliament in Bratislava voted without confidence in the populist-conservative government of Prime Minister Eduard Heger. 78 of the 102 deputies present voted to overthrow the government, which required 76 out of a total of 150 votes.
In addition to all opposition, several coalition representatives voted in parliament on Thursday to end Heger’s cabinet, which has been in office since April last year. Richard Sulik, leader of the Liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, explained to journalists shortly after the vote that this shows that the government has not only lost the trust of the majority of citizens, but also of its own parliamentarians.
Incompetence over the energy crisis and inflation
The Liberals, who had only been in government for three months, tabled the censure motion in Parliament. Heger’s government has plunged the country into chaos, wasting government money on insane projects and letting citizens and businesses down with the energy crisis, they say.
The finance minister and president of the strongest governing party, the Common People (Olano), Igor Matovic, is primarily responsible for this. Premier Heger is just a puppet in the hands of his party leader. After a deep coalition crisis last year, Matovic had to hand over the prime ministership to Heger under pressure from the SaS. Observers therefore also saw personal animosity between Sulik and Matovic as a possible reason for the censure motion.
The eagerly awaited decision in Parliament was preceded by two days of political chaos. The no-confidence vote was originally scheduled for Tuesday. According to media reports, the opposition already had enough votes. At the last moment, Olano managed to force a two-day postponement to still negotiate and attempt a government reorganization.
Shortly before the vote in the National Council, Igor Matovic even submitted his resignation to the presidential palace. According to a press release from the Office of the President, he reconsidered his already signed resignation at the last moment and literally “wrested the letter from the hands of an office worker”.
What is the next?
It is now up to the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova. She is obliged to dismiss Heger and his cabinet, but must immediately commission the government into resignation to carry on government business, albeit with very limited powers. According to observers, Caputova could also name a government of civil servants, which would then face a confidence vote in parliament.
It cannot be ruled out that Slovakia is aiming for new elections. This should bring left-wing populist parties back to power. This raises fears of a change in the course of the country’s foreign policy, which could become significantly more pro-Russian.
The Liberals have already dropped their support for new elections and are calling for a “search for a new ruling majority” based on the results of the last parliamentary election in 2020, said Sulik, leader of the SaS. But they don’t want to participate again. The second strongest party in the “We are a family” coalition has yet to commit.
The opposition, especially the leftist Smer of former Prime Minister Robert Fico, as well as the Hlas of his successor as Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, who currently have the strongest preference, see early elections as the only possible solution to the deep crisis. political crisis in the country.
(APA)