Interim PM Eduard Heger (C), Finance Ministry's State Secretary Marcel Klimek (L) and Interim Interior Minister Roman Mikulec (R) during a government meeting on January 11, 2023. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
Slovakia is another step closer to snap elections, though the constitution has not been amended to make them possible and a deal on the date is yet to be sealed.
Interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger, from the strongest coalition party OĽaNO, announced on Tuesday that he had not managed to obtain the signatures of lawmakers for the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party to form a new government, which at least 76 lawmakers would have to support.
"A discussion on snap elections is thus appropriate," Heger said, adding that they could be held in the autumn.
As head of the interim government appointed by President Zuzana Čaputová following the fall of his previous government in December, today Heger has to cooperate with the president on several matters, including foreign policy.
Heger and OĽaNO had rejected the possibility of snap elections until now.
On Wednesday Heger wants to meet with the representatives of SaS, OĽaNO and two coalition partners, Sme Rodina and Za Ľudí, to agree on the date of the next snap elections.
SaS also favours autumn as the period for the snap elections. Yet, the Hlas-SD opposition party, which leads in the political preferences polls, is demanding a pre-summer date, just like other opposition parties.
"We must find one-size-fits-all solution," Speaker and Sme Rodina chair Boris Kollár said at a press conference on Tuesday.
SaS: Negotiations are a waste of time
In its Tuesday press release, SaS wrote that Heger's fishing for signatures from 76 lawmakers to form a new government is a waste of time and he should take a snap elections scenario seriously.
"We were ready to negotiate, but we still don't know who's the real leader of OĽaNO," the party said.
SaS, Heger's coalition partner until last September, brought Heger's government down with the help of other parties in December. The party had claimed that Heger and his cabinet had stopped fighting corruption and had failed to help people during a period of crises on time. SaS also saw a problem in Finance Minister and OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič and his conflict-seeking behaviour.
In addition, SaS fears that Heger may leave OĽaNO over Matovič's confrontational way of conducting politics in the coming weeks. Heger has not denied this outcome. SaS argues that this would weaken Heger and even lose the legitimacy of forming a government if he joined another party.
Richard Sulík, head of the SaS party and the man who actually whispered to Heger to start hunting for the 76 signatures, does not see any point in negotiations also due to the coalition not being united.
Sme Rodina has repeatedly said that it would deliver its MPs' signatures only if an agreement on snap elections is reached. Moreover, Matovič said last weekend that he would want to be the last person to sign under the formation of Heger's new cabinet.
Za Ľudí rejects snap elections
The smallest of the three coalition parties, Za Ľudí, blames SaS for Heger's failed attempt.
"SaS proved to be a useless partner with a deep destructive path," the party said in its statement on Tuesday, referring to the party's contribution to the falls of several governments, in 2011 and 2022.
Matovič criticised Sulík for not being a principled man on Tuesday as well, projecting that SaS would not make it to parliament after the next elections.
Za Ľudí added that it will not vote for snap elections as it would lead to the return of ex-prime minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to power and the strengthening of extremist parties.
Fico had faced organised crime charges until last November, when the General Prosecutor's Office unaccountably scrapped them.
The return of Fico worries Heger as well.
Still much uncertainty
To hold snap elections, parliament will have to change the constitution and adopt a constitutional bill allowing this year's snap elections.
However, 90 votes will be needed in both cases.
On January 21, three days before parliament reconvenes, the opposition-initiated referendum on shortening the parliament will take place, though expected to become invalid due to a low turnout.
Yet, snap elections are supported by most people, a Focus poll shows.
In a recent interview, President Zuzana Čaputová said that she sees snap elections as the logical consequence of a fallen government. In December, she gave political parties until the end of January to agree on the elections, otherwise she would consider establishing a caretaker government despite most political parties in parliament saying that they would not back one.
It is not yet clear if the president will replace Heger's interim government with her caretaker government after January, or if she will decide to keep the interim government in place until the snap elections.
Čaputová is clear about one thing.
"We need stability and the pragmatic management of the state. We can no longer afford what we had here."
