Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška opened an extraordinary session of Parliament on Wednesday, October 28, in which opposition MPs will try to oust – for the third time – Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Štefanov (a Slovak National Party (SNS) nominee) over the so-called bulletin-board tender.
A no-confidence vote is expected to take place in the morning of October 29. It is not expected to be successful, as the opposition parties do not have enough votes to dismiss the minister. It is the latest in a series of unsuccessful no-confidence motions in cabinet ministers launched by the opposition during the present government’s term.
SNS caucus leader Rafael Rafaj said the opposition's repeated attempts to oust Štefanov stem from their enthusiasm for slandering the SNS come what may, and added that the opposition's efforts are also being supported by the Slovak media. However, Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) MP Ivan Farkas said that not only the bulletin-board tender but also problems with drawing EU funds provide adequate reason to dismiss Štefanov. According to the opposition, the motion stems from the partial responsibility of the current minister for the bulletin-board tender, over which they say Prime Minister Robert Fico has failed to take action.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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