Acting Slovak PM Eduard Heger announces his resignation on May 7, 2023. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
Caretaker Prime Minister Eduard Heger (Demokrati) has asked President Zuzana Čaputová to strip his pro-Western interim government of its mandate after she rejected two proposals that allegedly could have helped resolve the latest government crisis.
Earlier this week, Heger's Agriculture Minister Samuel Vlčan (OĽaNO nom.) decided to step down over a scandal connected to a subsidy from the Environment Ministry for Vlčan's firm. The police are investigating the scandal. Another member of the government, Foreign Minister Rastislav Káčer (Demokrati), announced his resignation following the premier's unscheduled televised address on Thursday evening, in which Heger admitted that Slovakia is in 'a chaotic crisis'.
Heger announced on late Sunday morning that he proposed to the president replacing Vlčan and Káčer with her own nominees to solve this week's government crisis. She refused the offer. Heger also offered to resign, but at the same time he wanted the president to keep the already appointed ministers in their posts. The president said no to this proposal as well.
Therefore, the premier asked the president to remove his caretaker government from power.
The caretaker government was appointed at the end of last year after Heger's government lost a confidence vote in parliament on December 15. This cabinet has had to consult the president on many matters since then.
Caretaker PM Eduard Heger and President Zuzana Čaputová at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava on May 7, 2023. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
