Richard Sulik (left) and his fellow SaS ministers have filed resignations as ministers of the cabinet of Eduard Heger (right). (source: Sme - Jozef Jakubco)
Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. The coalition comes up with the names of new ministers. Slovakia remembers the Queen. The third reactor at Mochovce is loaded with fuel.
Matovič-led coalition continues to bend the norms of Slovak politics
As of last week, Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) became prime minister of a minority government. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) now considers itself to be part of the opposition, and the leaders of the remaining three parties in the coalition spent last week headhunting replacement ministers. The result they have come up with is indisputably innovative – but it is the type of innovation that the Slovak public had hoped to see less of.As of last week, Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) became prime minister of a minority government . Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) now considers itself to be part of the opposition, and the leaders of the remaining three parties in the coalition spent last week headhunting replacement ministers. The result they have come up with is indisputably innovative – but it is the type of innovation that the Slovak public had hoped to see less of.
While the names of the ministers provide some good news, the way the government is put together is less reassuring. The coalition leaders decided that they would not divide the four ministries vacated by SaS among themselves, but would instead fill the posts by appointing people they describe as experts without a political agenda.
“My government, my responsibility,” Heger declared, leaving open the question of whether that had not been the case so far. He and the coalition party leaders have concocted what OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič dubbed a mix of caretaker and coalition government.
Meanwhile, SaS leader Richard Sulík, who is due to resume his seat as an MP seems to be indulging in his own innovative thinking with regard to his decision to quit the coalition and embrace the role of outside observer. He has been widely broadcasting that SaS might still change its mind and – in what he intimates is an act of generosity – consider coming back, should its former partners struggle to govern as a minority administration.
For now, Sulík’s half-offer is moot: Matovič and Sme Rodina leader Boris Kollár say that they want experts to be responsible for the departments of foreign affairs, economy, justice and education. As a result, party affiliations would not be attached to the ministerial nominees. Karel Hirman as economy minister, Rastislav Káčer as foreign affairs minister, and Viliam Karas as justice minister will report directly to the prime minister. But this is the case even now: for instance, Matovič, at least formally, is also Heger’s subordinate in the cabinet, and Heger has the power to dismiss him or any other minister if he is dissatisfied with their performance.
Even though the coalition leaders are emphasising that their proposal to appoint non-partisan ministers is not an attempt to stay away from political responsibility, at the end of the day it is exactly that. Political responsibility is not just a matter of who will dismiss an underperforming minister. During the next election campaign, coalition politicians will be judged by their performance in government. Political parties will broadcast to voters their successes in the departments they have overseen, and if they fail to deliver on stable electricity prices or on the new court map, voters should be able to hold them accountable for their failure by not voting for them again. Isn’t the reluctance of OĽaNO or Sme Rodina to accept political responsibility for the economy or justice departments an attempt to avoid accountability?
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Other news you should not miss from last week:
RIP QUEEN ELIZABETH: Queen Elizabeth II's seven decades of steadfast leadership and dedication to the service of her country through many global changes have made her a role model and an inspiration for us all, President Zuzana Čaputová wrote about the late monarch. Slovaks remember the Queen fondly, and recall her visit to their country in 2008.
SLOVAKIA PREPARES TO VOTE: Slovaks and foreigners permanently resident in Slovakia will all be able to vote for the mayors and councillors of their municipalities as well as the regional head and the members of their regional assembly on Saturday, October 29. It is the first occasion that elections to these two levels of government will take place on the same day. On Thursday, mayors protested in front of the Government Office in Bratislava, saying the government is not helping them deal with inflation and the current energy crisis.
FAKE NEWS FOOLS THE YOUNG: Teenagers have a problem distinguishing true from false information regarding health, psychologists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Comenius University in Bratislava found during recent research.
MOCHOVCE ON: Commissioning of the third unit of the nuclear power plant in Mochovce, Nitra Region, began shortly after midnight on Friday, when operator Slovenské Elektrárne began loading nuclear fuel into its reactor.
Quote of the week
“If you think I am doing it to rid myself of political responsibility, you are greatly mistaken.”
Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) comments on his proposal to appoint non-partisan experts as government ministers.
Expected this week
Parliament’s September session starts on Tuesday. Among numerous other things, MPs will address Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO. The session is expected to shed more light on how the now-minority government proposes to legislate.
Thursday is a national holiday, marking the Catholic holiday of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Slovakia’s patron saint.
Must-read stories for this week
ROMA WORKERS, SLOVAKIA’S LAST HOPE: Today, the Roma population represents the last significant reserve in the Slovak labour force, especially in the east of the country. However, if we cannot get people from Roma communities into the open labour market, this reserve will remain untapped, two analysts write.
HISTORY OF SLOVAK JAZZ: Holding a jazz concert in 1960s Czechoslovakia was no simple matter. First, you needed to convince the communist authorities that what you were trying to do was not subversive – no small task, given that the genre originated in the USA.
RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS: Awardees risked their own safety and lives for others by hiding them or helping them escape from the wartime totalitarian regime, with no expectation of compensation or reward. This year, 12 brave Slovaks received the award Righteous Among the Nations. Read their stories here.
RUSSIAN GOODS: Several shops in Bratislava that stock food products from eastern Europe were, until recently, called “Russian shops”. The range of goods they sell has not changed much, and they still sell Russian-style food items, but the shops have been renamed since the war in Ukraine started.
RARE OLD-TIMER: It was one of the most luxurious cars that one could buy in the Czechoslovak Republic. At the time, the elegant Aero 50 convertible was intended for wealthier customers. Today there are only two surviving examples in the world. One of them recently turned up at an auction in the US.
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