President Zuzana Čaputová (source: TASR)
The Constitutional Court is to decide whether a package of financial measures which was marketed as addressing the effects of inflation but which has sparked the latest coalition crisis is actually legal.
President Zuzana Čaputová filed a motion with the Constitutional Court in line with her earlier pledge to do so. The measures, which OĽaNO leader and finance minister Igor Matovič pushed through parliament against the will of coalition partner Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), concern a tax bonus for families with children and an allowance for free-time activities, among other things.
The president, who previously vetoed the legislation, asked the court to halt the effectiveness of the law if it does not decide before January 1, 2023, when part of the package is set to become effective. MPs voted to override the presidential veto last month.
"I am doing this because I want families to receive targeted, timely, and effective help that we can afford to give, and that will be decided on in a legitimate manner with the involvement of all those who will eventually have to pay for it from their budgets," Čaputová announced on July 15.
Finance Minister Igor Matovič accused the president of lying and expressed hope that the court would rule against her motion. If Matovič’s package is declared unconstitutional, a modified version would have to go through the whole legislative process again.
