Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška reproached MPs who did not attend the parliamentary session held on February 1. They included the authors of draft bills which should have been debated at the session, the TASR newswire reported on February 5. Most of those absent were reported to be MPs from the ruling Smer party, of which Paška is a senior member.
The leader of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Ján Figeľ, who as deputy speaker was presiding over the aforementioned session, had to end it early since there were not enough MPs in the chamber.
“I view this as inappropriate, likewise their subsequent statements,” said Paška, as quoted by TASR. “I recommend to those who have a pressing urge to appear before the cameras all the time that there are many reality shows where they can do this.”
At the same time, Paška put back all the legislative proposals concerned to the end of the current session, adding that they may even be dropped from the agenda altogether.
It is unlikely that the MPs in question will face any punishment from their the parties, the Sme daily wrote, quoting Deputy Speaker Jana Laššáková (Smer) as saying that the whole case is not as serious as it is being presented.
Sources: TASR, Sme
For more information about this story please see: Parliamentary session halted due to low attendance
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
6. Feb 2013 at 10:00