Round-table talks involving representatives from all the six parties that won seats in parliament in the general election on Saturday, March 10, will take place in the old parliament building on Župné Square in Bratislava on Thursday, March 15, the Smer party, which won the election, announced on Monday.
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) leader Richard Sulík confirmed on Sunday that his party would attend the round-table discussion, but would not enter a coalition with Smer. Most-Híd said it would also attend the discussion. Its chairman, Béla Bugár, said that the parties would debate European affairs and constitutional laws. Bugár has said previously that co-operation with Smer over minority and tax issues will not be possible. Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) said that it would take part in the discussion, but had not yet received an invitation. KDH chairman Ján Figeľ indicated on Sunday that KDH would remain in opposition, however.
Igor Matovič, leader of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), said that it would be polite to accept the invitation, but that coalition co-operation could safely be ruled out.
"It's necessary to talk, but I haven't got the gist of what the topic of such a discussion should be, given Smer's overwhelming majority [83 seats out of 150] in parliament," said Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) leader Mikuláš Dzurinda, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
