Fico threatens to unleash intelligence services over vote-buying fears

The prime minister signals a crackdown on vote-buying allegations while grappling with a healthcare exodus.

By: sme.sk

Oct 30 2024
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Fico threatens to unleash inte

The day after Slovakia’s ruling coalition struggled to rally enough votes in parliament for its various legislative proposals, the atmosphere appeared to stabilise on Wednesday.

Three far-right independent MPs supporting the coalition—Rudolf Huliak, Pavel Ľupták, and Ivan Ševčík, all of the non-parliamentary pro–Russian National Coalition party—continued to boycott most votes on Wednesday. This boycott, stemming from clashes with the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS) led by Andrej Danko, was somewhat counterbalanced by the return of coalition MP Ján Blcháč of Hlas, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment.

Without Blcháč and the three far-right MPs, the coalition would have been left with only 75 MPs on Wednesday, one short of the minimum 76 needed to pass votes. The opposition decided not to help the coalition with this inconvenience.

With Blcháč’s presence, parliament was not paralysed on Wednesday. His vote helped secure the positions of Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer) and Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (nominated by SNS), as 76 coalition MPs voted against removing them from office. The opposition sought Susko’s dismissal over his alleged laxity in tackling corruption and his decision to suspend the prison term of former top prosecutor Dušan Kovačik, convicted of corruption. The opposition targeted Šimkovičová for her incompetence in managing the ministry and attempting to assert political control over cultural institutions. Despite some coalition MPs expressing dissatisfaction with Šimkovičová, they refrained from voting for her removal. Hlas MP Roman Malatinec referred to this as a “yellow card” for the minister.