The four independent MPs who left the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) earlier this year are calling for a parliamentary vote to have Justice Minister Štefan Harabin (ĽS-HZDS) dismissed.
The former KDH MPs - Vladimír Palko, František Mikloško, Rudolf Bauer and Pavol Minárik - will need the co-ordinated support of the opposition for their initiative to hold a no-confidence vote in the minister. It is not certain that this support will be forthcoming, according to Milan Hort, the vice-chairman of the largest opposition party, the Slovak Christian and Democratic Union (SDKÚ-DS), speaking on May 27. To convene a special parliamentary session, the signatures of 30 MPs are needed.
According to Hort, the SDKÚ-DS was surprised to find out about the proposal to dismiss Harabin. “We think that there are much bigger ‘stars’ in the Government,” Hort told the TASR newswire. He emphasised that when it comes to no-confidence votes in members of the cabinet, the question of timing plays an important role. “At the moment we regard the proposal of the independent MPs as debatable,” he said.
Commenting on the initiative of their former members, KDH spokesman Martin Krajčovič said “The KDH has maintained since Harabin was appointed as justice minister that he doesn’t deserve to hold this post.” Currently, the KDH caucus has nine members.
The chairman of the 20-member Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) caucus, Gyula Bárdos, is the only opposition MP to have openly supported the proposal. However, he stressed that he was expressing a personal opinion and not that of the SMK caucus, which is set to discuss the proposal in the near future. 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.
