The ruling coalition HZDS party could take revenge on Smer and its leader, Prime Minister Robert Fico, during a non-confidence motion against Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška, a Smer nominee, the Sme daily wrote on November 26.
While the coalition crisis appears to be over for now, it might be tempting for the HZDS party to show Fico that he cannot do anything he wants, the daily wrote.
Fico admits that his coalition partner could take revenge on him for the sacking of its agriculture minister, Miroslav Jureňa. However, he said any HZDS attempt to punish Smer for its principled stance on the matter would put an end to the ruling coalition.
HZDS representatives say they do not plan to raise their hands against Paška. The vote on trust in Paška is expected on Monday or Tuesday.
The coalition crisis involved a suspicious land transfer deal conducted by the Slovak Land Fund, which falls under the jurisdiction of the agriculture ministry.
Coalition talks surrounding the crisis irritated HZDS leader Vladimír Mečiar, HZDS MP Jozef Halecký told the Pravda daily. At the HZDS caucus meeting, most MPs wanted to quit the ruling coalition, but the national board eventually voted to preserve the coalition, he said.
According to central secretary Zdenka Kramplová, Mečiar recognised that preserving the coalition with Smer and the SNS party would be the best solution for Slovakia.
-SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
