VOJTECH Tkáč, a rebel in the ranks of the strongest opposition party, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), began talks in early January with HZDS party MPs on possibly starting a new parliamentary caucus free of the influence of strong-arm HZDS leader Vladimír Mečiar.
Reactions from the MPs have been cautiously welcoming ahead of the party's next leadership summit, scheduled to take place on January 11.
Shortly before Christmas, Mečiar had offended party brass by holding a council with the leaders of the party's lower district organs in which he lobbied for their support in the face of mounting unrest among HZDS MPs with his authoritarian style of leadership.
