On the evening of September 26 Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová started negotiations with other leaders of the governing coalition on Slovakia’s position on the European Union’s provisional bailout mechanism, the EFSF, and its successor mechanism, the ESM, the Sme daily reported. Even though she had just returned from an official visit to Croatia she immediately opened the talks.
Sme reported that she said she would announce the outcome of the talks on September 27. The presidium of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party will also discuss whether to combine the vote on the EFSF and ESM with a no-confidence vote in the government, Sme reported.
Richard Sulík of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party said the actual vote should be taken sometime around October 25, Sme wrote, adding that Slovakia cannot rely on another eurozone country to quickly stop the bailout mechanisms as this week Finns, Slovenians and Austrians will vote and Germany will hold its vote on September 29.
According to Sme, most members of SDKÚ’s presidium have refused to disclose their position on combining the votes while Radičová repeated through her spokesman Rado Baťo that for her only the coalition’s stability was most crucial, along with approval of the state budget and the government’s package of reforms.
Sme reported that Igor Matovič, an independent MP and a member of the Ordinary People faction of SaS, said that he considered combining the vote on the bailout mechanisms with the no-confidence vote in government was disrespectful to voters’ opinion, adding that if these votes are combined, the four MPs from Ordinary People will not take part.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
